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Show HBaieIk Cnmiimttfly Saffeity Radio locators should be standard equipment byNanChalat This is the sixth in a series of articles on snow safety presented in conjunction with Red Pine Back Country Rescue. In the tew years they have been on the market, pocket-sized radio locators have become standard equipment for winter recreationists, said Bob Bailey, director of Ski Utah's Interconnect Program and volunteer for Red Pine Back Country Rescue. The locators were developed by John Lawton in 1968 and were immediately adopted by ski patrols throughout the West, Bailey said. The first brand, Skadi, is still the best on the market, which now offers several less expensive brands, he said. Pieps, Ramer and Otro Vox all make a version of Skadi's portable transmitter receiver which can help rescuers home in on buried avalanche victims. Ideally, every skier who travels through snow-covered terrain where an avalanche hazard exists will wear a radio locator tuned in to the transmitting (sending) mode, Bailey said. If a skier is caught in a slide his partners can immediately switch their locators to "receive" and pick up an audible beeping signal from the buried locator, he explained. Prices for the above-mentioned brands range from $200 for the Skadi and $155 for the Pieps to $100 for the least expensive Echo n by Ramer. Each operates on an audio band of 2275 Hz so the signals are mutually compatible. The $160 Otro Vox however, operates on 2275 Hz and 475 kHz, which makes it compatible both with the standard American brands and several other European-made European-made models. Bailey suggests that travelers who plan to ski in Europe buy the Otro Vox to insure being compatible with as many systems as possible. He cautions, however, that anyone purchasing a radio locator for use in the United States should make sure it transmits at 2275 Hz. But carrying a radio locator is just part of a back-country skier's responsibility, Bailey said. "They should also take time to practice using them," he said. The easiest way to practice is to work with a friend and a second locator, he said. Have your friend bury his locator somewhere in your back yard and then try to find it. "Practice makes perfect. You should be able to get your time down to within three minutes. Remember a victim can only survive without oxygen for four minutes before brain damage begins. You don't want to lose any time," he said. The first step in locating a buried transmitter is called orientation. Because the locators use electromagnetic electro-magnetic signals it is necessary to align your transmitter to the buried unit, he said. To orient your transmitter for the best possible signal stand still and roll your wrist holding the locator in a variety of positions until the signal is loudest. Then maintain that orientation as you move toward the signal. The next steps involve "bracketing" "bracket-ing" or walking back and forth to determine the strongest point of reception. Start by walking in one arbitrarily-picked arbitrarily-picked direction. (On a mountain, start by moving downhill, he said. ) Walk a straight line as long as the signal gets louder, a few steps beyond with the signal beginning to fade and then back to the loudest point. Bailey said. Once you have determined the loudest point, turn 90 degrees and begin walking again. If the signal is immediately soft, reverse direction and continue walking at a 90-degree angle from your first axis. This will bring you very close to the buried unit, but it is common procedure to turn 90 degrees and bracket once again, Bailey said. In an actual rescue, other skiers can begin carefully probing the area as soon as the second point is located, he added. The locators, however, have limited accuracy and if digging a shallow pit still doesn't turn up the missing locator, use your locator along the walls of the pit and dig in the direction the signal indicates, he added. The Pieps, Skadi and Otro Vox locators all have variable volume controls which Bailey said are helpful in discerning subtle changes in the strength of a signal. He suggests turning the volume down as the signal gets louder so smaller changes in the volume can be perceived. Even with plenty of practice, though. Bailey remined back-country skiers that a Pieps, or Echo, or even a Skadi is no substitute for good touring practices and good sense." Approximately 50 percent of all avalanche victims die from the impact of the slide, he said. When heading out into the ungroomed back country, Bailey said he turns his locator on in the car on the way just to make sure it isn't forgotten. Then he tucks it under as many layers of clothing, as close to his body, as possible. "It is impossible to imagine the impact of an avalanche and how easily your locator could be torn away from you." On the trail he takes time to check the distance range of his locator with one or two "walk by" tests with another rkier. "On the Interconnect, we check our transmitters every time we go out of bounds." Bailey said it is important to test your batteries after every 10 days of use. "It's a simple procedure and should be done on both transmit and receive," he said. "Finally," Bailey said, "if you have a Pieps, use it every time you go skiing and don't turn it off until you are back in your car at the end of the day." |