Six tips for a safe ski tour – from avalanche transceivers to first aid kits

You need more than just an avalanche transceiver, a shovel and a probe for your ski tour. Getting up and down the mountain safely calls for a few additional pieces of kit – not to mention knowledge. You can take an avalanche course, for instance, to learn how to assess the snow properly. Sales advisor and mountain guide Angelina shares tips for staying safe on your tour.

Avalanche awareness to keep you safe

Time and again, I notice that beginners are particularly concerned about avalanche safety. That’s hardly surprising, as this is doubtless the most unpredictable factor when you’re spending time in the mountains during the winter months. Experienced skiers or professionals adapt a tour’s risk level to the abilities of its participants, but beginners often find this overwhelming.

There is, however, one thing you can control – and that’s taking the right equipment (shovel, probe, avalanche transceiver) with you and knowing how to use it. In addition, you can study the avalanche report, maps and webcams in advance. Then, you should assess the terrain and your own skills. Neither of those are as easy as it sounds. Often, it’s harder to appraise your own abilities than it is to appraise the terrain. Warning signs in the terrain are cracks, ‘voom’ noises, spontaneous avalanches, high winds and poor visibility. You can obtain a basic level of knowledge at our avalanche information evenings, for instance.

Correcting forecasting the weather

When you’re watching the weather report, don’t just look at the pictures. Instead, read the text and identify the major connections. It might sound simple, but, in my experience, it’s possible to find an online weather report that tells you whatever you want to hear. So, it’s worth carefully incorporating reliable sources rather than blindly relying on just one forecast.

Some weather situations are easier to predict, like cold fronts. However, others are less stable, such as shallow pressure conditions, which call for greater caution. In addition, there’s not necessarily anything wrong with taking a calculated risk as far as weather goes, because many Swiss valleys and regions have their own microclimate. Usually, we tend to want to stick to our plans – but when you’re in the mountains, you need to remain flexible.

Swift repairs while on the go

Newbies often ask me what I pack so I’m to kitted out to deal with almost any situation. My response? My MacGyver set, comprising:

• Cord

• Cable ties

• Gaffer tape

• Nuts and bolts

• Skin wax

• Ski wax

• Colltex tape

• A piece of wire

• A small screwdriver with various heads

• A multitool

• Straps

• Wooden dowels

These little bits and bobs can be used to fashion temporary fixes for all kinds of issues when out and about. For instance, I needed to carry out an interim repair to the shaft of my ski boot during a tour in Canada – and a nut and bolt were worth their weight in gold! Bindings can cause issues, which is where the multitool comes in. And if your skins have come unstuck, you need Colltex tape. Finally, if your ski poles break, you can splint them using wooden dowels and gaffer tape.

Bear in mind that you should only fiddle about with your material in a dire emergency. It’s always safer to seek out professional help: I only use my repair kit when I really have to.

Making a rescue sled from a bivy sack

If someone has an accident en route and you can’t continue with your ascent, you can build a makeshift rescue sled. The easiest way to do this is to take a small, robust bivy sack and put a handful of snow in each corner from the inside. Then, tie these corners together with laces or straps from your repair kit so you have a good grip on them. You can also line the bivy sack with jackets or backpack padding to make it a bit comfier. This can be used to pull someone down the mountain – over soft snow – in an emergency.

Crevasse rescue

Crevasse rescues divide opinion. The Swiss pulley system is a textbook variant, but it’s not the easiest, in my view, and people often fail to practice it regularly enough precisely because it’s so complex. However, falls and accidents don’t care whether you’re lacking practice, suffering from shock or pumped full of adrenaline. That’s why I think the alternative, simple pulley using a Petzl Nano Traxion, pulley roller and prusik hitch is worth knowing. I’ve seen that this variant works better under pressure, not least during my time as part of a canyoning rescue team. Thanks to the pulley roller, you’ve got next to no friction (efficiency: 1 to 2.85) and a similar outcome to the Swiss pulley without rollers (efficiency: approx. 1 to 2.7). However, you still need to practice this rescue strategy.

Emergency first aid kit

First off, pack the things that you’d need in a medical emergency. Secondly, put good thought into whereabouts in your backpack you’ll keep your first aid kit. I always pop a waterproof bag with plasters, blister plasters and batteries in the lid of my backpack so these little helpers are always to hand.

My big first aid kit contains an SAM splint, which serves as a universal splint and fits neatly in the rear portion of my backpack. Then, I have basic equipment such as a pocket knife with scissors, bandages, steri-strips, disinfectant, rubber gloves and a survival blanket or bivy sack. Seek medical advice as to medications, but strong painkillers are a must-have for me.

I’d recommend adding some arnica globules to your first aid kit: you can use this as emergency medicine in the event someone suffers blunt-force trauma. I’d also add a few tampons (you can fashion a compress from them to stop bleeding) and a roll of tape.