ARTVA, probe and shovel
The must have kit for self-rescue in an avalanche
It is well known that in the mountains, there is no such thing as zero risk, especially in the presence of snow.
Therefore, regardless of the activity we engage in (such as ski mountaineering, snowshoeing, off-piste skiing, ice climbing, just to name a few), we must be prepared to deal with an avalanche search situation.
It is always possible that an avalanche may directly involve our group, of course, but we may also be witnesses to an incident involving other people.
In any case, we must act very quickly because a person buried by an avalanche must be extracted from the snow, not just found, as quickly as possible to have any chance of extracting them alive. The statistics are clear: essentially, we have about fifteen minutes beyond which the chances are greatly reduced.
It is mainly for this reason that avalanche transceivers (ARTVA), probes, and shovels have become mandatory by law in various countries, for those who venture off-piste or practice ski mountaineering. Let's not fool ourselves: even if the accident occurs near a ski resort, the response time of organised rescue teams is much longer than necessary!
Later on, we will talk about rescue in general, self-rescue, and what these three tools are and how to use them; here, I just want to emphasise the importance of the complete kit for self-rescue in an avalanche: avalanche transceiver (ARTVA), probe, and shovel.
First of all, let's say that everyone, and I mean everyone, who participates in the excursion must have all three tools; the lack of even one of them will affect the speed of the intervention.
The avalanche transceiver (ARTVA) allows us to search for and locate the buried person or people quickly, provided that we know how to use it, are trained in its use, and, of course, have checked it before the excursion, including the battery level. It goes without saying that it should be worn correctly and kept away from cell phones and other electronic devices.
Once we have located the buried person or people, we use the probe to locate the body as quickly as possible. Remember that we are looking for a person, not a 10 cm tool! Therefore, there is no need to waste time trying to locate a pack of cigarettes. When the ARTVA tells us that we are very close, we use the probe: it is faster and will also tell us the depth at which the buried person is located.
At this point, all we need is a good shovel to remove the snow. There are various digging techniques that we will see on other occasions; here, we just want to emphasise the importance of the shovel for quick action.
If we try to dig a hole with our hands or skis, we will immediately realise how much time we need!
Tests carried out in various countries during snow courses and avalanches give us an idea of what it means to have the complete kit or not to have even just one of the tools that make up the kit.
Time required to find and extract a buried person in the same test conditions :
With beacon, probe and shovel : 17'
With beacon and shovel : 29'
With beacon and probe : 55'
Only with beacon : 64’
These are indicative numbers, based on tests performed under certain conditions, which in any case give a very concrete idea of the usefulness of the complete avalanche transceiver kit, probe and shovel.
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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.
