Avalanche: the 15-minute window
What decides your fate, second by second
The survival curve
- 92% survival rate if dug out in under 15 min
- 30% at 35 minutes, almost nothing after 90 min
- Asphyxiation kills more people than the cold
- 9 out of 10 avalanches triggered by the victim
Warning signs before it gives way
- The whumpf: dull sound, sudden collapse
- Cracks shooting out from your skis
- Recent slides on a similar slope
- Hollow sound under your poles, blocky snow
The first 10 seconds
- Shout to mark the last point seen
- Let go of poles and skis if possible
- Swim toward the surface and toward the edge
- Just before stopping: bring arms in front of your face
Buried: managing your air
- Don't scream, unless rescuers are right above you
- Breathe slowly, stay calm, save your oxygen
- Move immediately as you stop to enlarge your air pocket
- Your breath freezes the snow into an ice mask
Searching for a buddy
- Transceiver in search mode, descend along the fall line
- Probe in a spiral, every 25 cm
- Shovel as a team, downhill, using the V-shaped method
- Clear the head and airways first
Before heading out
- Transceiver worn on your body, in transmit mode, tested
- Shovel and probe accessible, never at the bottom of your pack
- Only one skier on the slope at a time
- Level 3 (Considerable) kills the most, not level 5
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