How to Find Someone Buried in an Avalanche
Avalanches happen. With proper safety precautions and preparation you can greatly reduce your chances of being caught in an avalanche. Unfortunately, some people will still get caught. When this happens the victim's life depends on you making quick decisions and rescuing that person as quickly as possible. The best way to save someone is to be prepared for such an event. With proper training you will be able to act calmly and logically. Finding a buried avalanche victim is the type of training you must have, but hope that you never need.
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Instructions
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Watch the slide happen. Try to follow the victim as the avalanche carries them down the slope. If you can identify the "last-seen point" you'll have a better chance of narrowing down where the victim might be located under the snow.
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Determine how many people may be buried from your party. If proper safety measures were taken, it should never exceed one buried individual.
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Look and listen. Search the avalanche debris for signs of the victims. You may see a ski sticking out of the snow or hear a clue that will lead you closer to the victim.
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Turn beacons on. They should be in receive mode. With practice using a beacon is easy.
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Search the avalanche area with the beacon. A buried beacon will transmit a signal that your beacon will follow. This will help pinpoint the location of the victim within a few meters or less.
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Probe the snow with your probe to find the exact location of the buried person. Probe in a pattern to ensure that you don't probe the same area more than once. Once the probe locates the victim, leave the probe in the snow as a marker.
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Dig the victim out as fast as you can with your shovel. The primary goal is to clear the snow away from the victim's face and airway first. Next dig out the rest of the victim's body.
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Administer first aid if necessary.
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Tips & Warnings
Be safe and make conservative decisions in the backcountry. Practice these procedures until they are second nature. Hopefully you will never need to use these skills. Take an avalanche course to get practice and education about avalanches.
Always ski with people that you trust with your life. If you're the one caught in an avalanche, your life depends on the search skills of your ski partners. Time is critical. The faster you can find someone, the more chance that they will survive.
