Let's start the new winter season in the best possible way: safety equipment
Before the first trip of the season, safety equipment such as skis, skins and boots, must be checked and tested
With the new winter season beginning a few weeks ago, BlueRando’s "Snow & Avalanche" blog also resumes activity with some ideas to draw the attention of snow enthusiasts to the importance of prevention.
For the return of winter activities, I want to briefly remind you of some very important aspects regarding safety equipment and, in a future episode, of how to prepare yourself for it.
For a few months our avalanche transceivers have remained switched off in the backpack, hopefully after having been cleaned and the used batteries removed, a very important operation to preserve their integrity over time.
Let's put in new batteries (these should never be rechargeable batteries) and do some practice to get back to speed; a few exercises, even at home, a review of the user manual and self-help procedures will allow us to be efficient straight away if needed.
If during the summer we also worried about updating the software of the most modern devices, it will be even more appropriate to first test them, to be aware of any changes or differences compared to older versions.
For this purpose, we remind you that there are specific ARTVA fields in certain locations to practice in conditions similar to real ones: depth of the device to be searched, number of victims and other characteristics are created specifically so that you can train without the hassle of digging repeatedly in the snow to bury the fake victims to be located.
One last thing: the airbags, probes and blades also need to be checked to make sure that everything is in order and that there are no breakages or malfunctions (such as with the launch probe cord).
And if you are already ready for your first outing, don't forget that:
- The avalanche transceiver must always be well secured to the body, never left in the backpack.
- It should always be turned on at the beginning of the trip and should never be turned off until the end of the trip.
- The correct functioning check must always be carried out immediately upon departure, among all participants and both in reception and in emission.
Try the Bluerando app!
With Bluerando, you can save and share your snow activities with friends, check out reports sent by other users, and use the routes in the shared library.
Above all, you can share your location with your travel companions and record your Snow & Avalanche Observations and contribute to everyone's safety.
Ernesto Bassetti
Ernesto is one of the leading snow and avalanche experts in Italy and beyond.
By passion and by profession, he has been involved in mountain safety for over 40 years, with particular attention to the avalanche issue.
He is co-founder, and until 2020 Vice President, of MND Group; important international player in the field of mountain infrastructure and world leader in controlled avalanche release systems.
He is a ski instructor, National Ski Mountaineering Instructor, former director of the Mario Righini Ski Mountaineering School.
He was promoter, co-founder and soul of the "Servizio Valanghe Italiano" (Italian Avalanche Service), of which he held the Presidency for 18 years.
