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Avalanche beacons
 If
you are going out into the backcountry, whether you are snowboarding,
snowshoeing, snowboarding, skiing, snowmobiling, or anything else,
you need to have an avalanche
beacon. Of course, you need to do much more than just
have an avalanche beacon… you need to know how to use it.
You need to know how to avoid having to use it – follow avalanche
warning updates, always check the snow conditions before you ride,
etc. And you need to travel in the backcountry with buddies…
otherwise, what use in an avalanche beacon?
All that being said, here are some suggestions as to how to select
the right avalanche beacon:
Operating frequency of your avalanche beacon
More important than anything else, your avalanche beacon must have
the correct signal transmission frequency. There are some older
beacons that use a different frequency than the standard 457khz
frequency of newer avalanche beacons.
Analog avalanche beacons vs. digital avalanche beacons
Alright, so technically all avalanche beacons transmit an analog
signal via a single antenna. The difference between “analog”
beacons and digital ones is that an analog avalanche beacon also
uses a single antenna to receive the signal.
A digital beacon uses more than one antenna to receive a signal.
Generally, digital avalanche beacons are easier to use, which can
lead to quicker search times (which is, of course, extremely important).
Of course, if you spend a lot of time practicing with your analog
avalanche beacon, then your search time can be just as fast or even
faster. Analog avalanche beacons also have longer battery life and
the search range is longer
It is possible to find an avalanche beacon that can switch between
analog and digital mode. It can start in analog mode to increase
the search range, and then switch to digital mode once you are within
a shorter distance so that you can pinpoint.
Search range of avalanche beacons
The larger range that your avalanche beacon offers, the shorter
your initial search time will be by allowing for a wider search
strip pattern (while you are trying to find a signal). The range
of an avalanche beacon is very dependent on battery life and other
factors. Therefore, you can assume that although a manufacturer
may rate an avalanche beacon with a very high search range, the
actual search range may be much less.
Other features of avalanche beacons
You can find avalanche beacons with many extra, helpful, life-saving
features. For instance, you can buy an avalanche beacon with a “multiple
burial” search mode. This will help you when more than one
victim has been hit by the avalanche and you must find them all.
You can also get avalanche beacons that will tell the user when
the antenna and the flux line are lined up (the flux line is extremely
important. Although this article has not mentioned much about the
flux line, it is certainly worth researching).
Overall, no matter how many special features your avalanche beacon
has, none of them will help you save a person if you do not practice
with your avalanche beacon. Make sure you know exactly how to use
your beacon and practice using it a lot. Also, make sure that the
buddies that you hit the backcountry with know how to use their
avalanche beacons, as well… You do not want your life to be
on the line because somebody needed a refresher course!
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