Lifesaving avalanche beacons now easy to use

Whether you're on skis or snowshoes, traveling the surface of snow makes the sport enjoyable. Unfortunately, in the winter wilderness, the world can quickly turn upside down. Avalanches can move at the speed of race cars, with the force of a freight train.

Fortunately, there are ways to minimize the potential loss of life. Wearing an avalanche transceiver has long been one of the most effective means of ensuring you survive any avalanche encounter.

An avalanche transceiver (also called an avalanche beacon) works as both a receiver and transmitter. The device is worn close to your body, typically under your outer layers so the forces of an avalanche can't rip it off. When you're out skiing or snowshoeing, the beacon is set in transmit mode. If an avalanche sweeps up one or more members of a party, those who escaped the avalanche turn their beacons to "receive" and use them to locate the transmitters of their buried companions.

In years past, extensive training and practice was required to effectively use the beacons, but several advances in beacon technology have made these devices very easy to use today. But one thing hasn't changed — the beacons don't work unless everyone has them. The units aren't inexpensive on their face, yet are a relatively cheap form of insurance.

One of the most effective, and feature-rich, beacons we've used is the Pulse Barryvox from Mammut. When in receive/search mode, the Pulse Barryvox automatically locks onto the strongest signal, but displays a scrollable list of all beacon signals it receives.

A directional arrow guides you toward the closest signal source, and after each transmitter is found, you can mark the location and move on to other victims.

During practice sessions, we found that users with no avalanche rescue training were able to find the "victim" in a matter of minutes. What's more, the Pulse Barryvox helps you prioritize rescues if the victim and searcher are both using Pulse beacons. The searching transceiver will report if the victim is alive by sensing very small movement (as small as respirations and/or heartbeats, hence the name Pulse). With multiple burials, a small heart is displayed next to victims who show any movement. That helps with triage — determining who to rescue first.

Another helpful feature, unique to the Pulse, is that if you are headed away from the signal source, the direction indicator on the display will reverse direction, pointing behind you. When using other digital beacons with direction indicators, you won't know you are heading away from the victim until you see that the distance indicator is increasing.

The Pulse Barryvox meets all international requirements for transmitting, receiving and battery life, and works in both transmit and search mode with all other beacons — whether they are other digital transceivers or traditional analog beacons. The Pulse Barryvox sells for $450. See www.mammut.ch.

First and foremost, the best option is to avoid avalanches. There are lots of great sources of information on learning how to read snow conditions and avoid avalanche dangers, but the first, best place to start is the Northwest Weather and Avalanche Center. Call them, or check their Web site, before every backcountry winter outing to get the latest updates on avalanche forecasts and current conditions for the area you'll be traveling. 206-526-6677 (recorded forecast) or www.nwac.us.