Do you ride with a beacon, shovel and a probe.

[Cheetahdave]

Every day i go out i ride with a beacon,probe and shovel in my backpack. I always make sure that everybody in the group has everything as well. A quick transceiver check at the the trail head is always a good idea also. Good to know the transceivers are turned on and that the batteries are all good!


cheetahfactoryracing.com

 

[St0rm77]

shovel x2 (pack and sled), probe, beacon, avy pack, AST1 to train you how to use the gear, then all the other necessaties: single burner stove, folding saw.....etc...

 

[Yaco]

Guess if I was riding in a flat open field it wouldn't matter....but I would never go into the mountains without the gear. If you can afford to buy/maintain/operate a snowmobile there is no excuse for not buying beacon/probe/shovel for another couple hundred bucks. Most of the heli ski outfits sell off shovels and probes every 2 years or so for dirt cheap with nothing wrong with them, and new equipment isn't over pricey anyways.

 

[palerider57]

Always ride with shovel & probe in backpack. BCA Throttle Airbag backpack that is. Also carry survival kilt...butane lighter, candles, small saw etc.

 

[Redbaronjg]

Here is what we do in our group, if I do not know the riders friends bring. They only have one choice is get a beacon, if they cant source one from a rental I lend them one out of the trailer. The second thing is before we head up I hide my beacon and the group finds my beacon barried in snow near by. Teaches them some points on how to use it. Got this idea from Bill at Glacier Mountain Lodge in Blue River and used in now for years. If for some reason a person does not want to ride with a beacon, they dont ride with me PERIOD. I do not mind at all taking up newbies and helping them with getting to know the sport I love plus knowledge of safety equipement they need in the back country. The other rule I have is leave the beer in the trailer, we'll have one when we return. Just thought I would share what we do on the hills..............

Leave the beer in the trailer?!?! What do you do all day up there?.... Hah

 

[goldtip]

It is pretty rare these days for me to ride without my beacon attached, took a while for me to get used to strapping it on every day, then lost a friend in an Avy, a couple years ago and haven't ridden without it since then. Wasn't there and not sure he had one, but doesn't matter, I always have mine now.

 

[mold]

I don't need no stinken beacon, I'm old and invincable.

 

[summit1000]

I can't believe this is even a question. If I drove the 7 hours to get to the mountain and paid to stay in a hotel for the weekend and got there and my beacon stopped working and I was unable to rent one, I wouldn't ride. Beacon, probe, shovel, MANDATORY. They are also mandatory if you want to ride with my friend and I. If you don't have the proper equipment, you aren't welcome to ride with us.

 

[ABDoo800]

Never venture into the mountains without my beacon, probe and shovel. Always check beacon function before heading up as well. Also carry a first aid kit, small saw, fire starter etc

Hopefully may never need any of it, but if I do, it is there.

 

[everest8]

I ride in flatland Ontario but when I do go west, yes I doo !

 

[imdoo'n]

not in the summer!

 

[NathanLarson]

I have a shovel, beacon, and Gatorade
Everyone I ride with has a probe with them though.

 

[Absledder]

I have a shovel, beacon, and Gatorade
Everyone I ride with has a probe with them though.

Hard to borrow there probe if they're buried. They're like 80 bucks it's kinda ridiculous not to have one

 

[RMPERK]

Got it all. Just would like to have to never use it

 

[avidsledder]

Hah that's what happened to me. When I was just learning how to sled, my sled mentor took my new beacon and threw it outside into the plowed snow. After much swearing on my part, he explained the reason behind the search for the Beacon "if u can't find the beacon, you can't fine me, and I need u to fine me". Oh, that makes sense. He had been in an avalanche and lost his sledding buddy. He explained what it's like to be buried and to loose a dear friend. The way he explained it I never want to be in that situation.

 

[MOMMA]

whoops wrong thread.. computer is doing the funky monkey!

 

[Shredbud01]

Where I ride, those are mandatory! I would never go out with people that are missing one of these, Beacon, Probe, Shovel. Safety First Guys! Better be safe than sorry!

 

[longtrack 156]

Not much for avy terrain where I usually ride, but...I want to get to Sicamous and Hunters this year. Two years ago I bought the beacons for the wife and myself, took the awareness training and managed to find some pretty good training videos for rescue procedures and terrain condition recognition. We've been out and practiced and I honestly feel confident in my skills to find you if I need to. Last year conditions were just too unstable in Revy and Sicamous and I don't know those areas so I simply didn't go. Even if I had all the training that was possibly available, I still wouldn't risk giving my life for the sport. I've been a firefighter for 22 years now but that doesn't mean I go stand as close to the fire as I can just because I'm well trained. Some people get so hung up on whether or not I've taken an avy course they forget that a good percentage of the people who take these avy courses probably still knowingly ride unstable slopes and some of them couldn't find their ass with both hands when Chit hits it. I'm not saying don't take a course, not at all(I still do intend to)...but keep in mind that just because you've taken the courses doesn't mean you're gonna make all the right decisions, eliminate all the risks and be proficient doing a search under extreme stress. OK...go ahead and beat me up!

I have been riding for 50 years, the problem as I see it, people think it won't happen to them, especially when they have the gear and training. A few years ago the statistics were that 95% of all avalanche accident victims had the gear and training. Here in BC a few years ago only 40% of the members of the BCSVA had the gear and training. I believe that less than 30% of all the sledders in BC belong to the BCSVA. That being said I don't believe enough people carry enough gear to survive a couple of days in the outback. Personally I don't have any avalanche gear or training, but in 50 years of sledding in the mountains of BC I have never seen an avalanche. However I have seen many sleds having to be towed out. I must add it may be because I have spent in the early years, and later years sledding alone. At my age I can't take too many chances riding alone.