Avalanche Safety Kit

Zoom+ Box set is very good value for money for the three essential items.

The 3+ Box set sets you up with the best tools.
No need to ever upgrade.

Zoom+

Ortovox 3+ has good range and a "mark" feature

The 3+ has a good pinpoint search display

Let hope that's winter snow on the way at last.  If you need any avalanche safety kit I can do airbags, transceivers, shovels and probes as well as clothing and rucksacks from Ortovox.

Its a cut throat business as importers try and cut prices to keep trade while the strength of the pound makes getting the kit from Europe more expensive. I will not pretend I can compete with online companies that buy huge amounts and make it work on reduced margins by selling cheap and in volume.  I can't. But I try and get close. What I can offer is avalanche knowledge and practical "hands on" using the kit I sell in real rescues as well as training. The plus for customers is that I can offer some free training and advice if you buy from me. Advice is always free and I am happy to spend a little while on the hill showing you your transceiver and making sure you get the best out of it in the context of avoiding getting to that having been avalanched moment with the avy forecast and some knowledge. 

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I sell ARVA, BCA and Ortovox snow safety equipment.  I sell more of Ortovox now than other makes. The "smart antenna" technology of Ortovox transceivers (Beacons) is really good and I think makes a big difference. All new Ortovox beacons also have a Recco strip inside which is a nice extra.

The Zoom+ is a basic 3 antenna beacon and if your new and on a budget I can recommend the Zoom+ Safety set which has a good basic shovel and probe as well as info booklet on avalanches in the box.

I sell more of the Ortovox 3+ than any other beacon.  Its got an improved fine search and is a bit faster than the Zoom. It also has the "mark/flag" feature.  I recommend that folk learn how to search in a pattern before relying on this feature but the 3+ seems to mark well and as its limited to marking 3 victims the chance of signal overlap and overload is minimised. This is a good avalanche beacon. The safety set comes with a slightly better shovel with an extendable handle and a good 240pfa probe and all three in a box is cheaper. 

A really good shovel is the pro alu III as you can convert it to a hoe which in conveyor shovelling is the most effective way of clearing the snow from the point man. We cover this in avalanche training courses.

I personally have an S1+ which is the daddy of avalanche beacons. It has all the good features of the 3+ and a really good deep burial mode and a close proximity multi victim mode. The screen is big and its possible to see direction and distance to each victim as well as the strongest signal its locked into. The S1+  also has a longer range (about 15 metres longer) than other digital beacons. Its a good beacon for a professional guide or ski patrol.

The S1+ has a superior display and deep burial feature as well as close proximity multiple victims. £275 from me.

"we are all infinitely wise"

I am researching legal stuff on avalanches. Some mountain professionals are advertising and offering to investigate avalanche incidents independently. I wouldn't regard myself as being either qualified or desiring to take on such a burden as avalanches have provided me with enough drama and loss. However, its interesting to look back on precedent to satisfy my curiosity as to where these investigations lead. I have undertaken avalanche hazard evaluation for ski areas as part of prevention and rescue plans where foresight is needed, but post accident investigation makes me uneasy unless its low key and done as impartial data collection is done discreetly.

There is nothing wrong with bringing information and closure to relatives or families by answering questions informally about accidents but when it comes to skiing litigation is rampant in all aspects of events. This is so unlike mountaineering where folk, families included, accept shit happens. I worry that this could change in our ever more popular mountain sports. It set me thinking. If someone ends up making a case for a plaintiff, who then has the knowledge and experience to act for the defence?  Expert testimony often cancels itself out in the courts nullifying itself. But damage to reputations and press reporting wrecks lives. I hope  its left to the rescuers and police or at worst an FAI to conclude cause and effect in these things. Hindsight

With time on my hands I am going back over my early texts, listening to my recordings from tutorials I undertook on avalanche and education from many of this generations experts, one who is my Recco mentor.  I am also enjoying re reading some classic books Andre Roch, Sleigman and Atwaters texts are still among the best on the subject. I have linked some abstracts from within the books to give a flavour. Getting these books nowadays is expensive and looking back at my library its a lot smaller than it was. Like an eejit a few years back when a bit skint I sold loads of books to get a carbon race bike. I may have got £350 for "Extreme Rock" and the same for a book which I was able to get Ricardo Cassin to sign for me when I met him, but I sold my soul for a "thing" and wish I hadn't.

For an up to date take on the subject of avalanches Mark Diggins gave an excellent interview and I can recommend Secrets of the Snow by Chapelle

There is a lot on avalanche control and prevention as ski professionals which we would all do well to heed, especially in ski rescue where public safety is a big part of the job.

Avalanches as weapons

Niege et Avalanche

The best DVD you can get on basic snow science and avalanche. Even though an ANENA membre I still had to buy mine in France as they don't ship to the UK but its now possible to get it as a Vimeo download. I can't praise it enough as it touches all the bases.


SNOW AND AVALANCHES - Knowledge and Risk's Management from ANENA - CANOPÉ on Vimeo.