2011, by lukelubchenco

These cans were either shot with bb guns or extensively probed in an avalanche rescue scenario. Not sure which one...

So, you spent 2 hours at that last party sitting in the corner sipping beers with your buddy talking about how you are GOING to practice with your avalanche beacon, but that was 3 weeks ago and low and behold; You still haven't done squat! Not to guilt trip, but it's probably time- even if you have a BCA Tracker 2 that's easy enough for a 6 year old to use! The problem is, why would you do that instead of watching a movie? Here's three ways to make it cooler than Netflix:

1) Make it fun for everyone! Set up a timer, invite a couple more people over for practice, and create a scenario. Hide the beacon(s) and run into the house/to the person screaming and yelling that your friend just got taken out by a huge avalanche! (aaaahhhhh!) Have one person who can keep their calm describe the parameters for the mock path and then start the timer! Fastest one after everyone has gone gets bragging rights!

And since no one really cares about bragging rights, let's move on to a better idea...

2) Hide the beer! Nothing gets people fired up like a cold brewski on a friday night. Let's face it, you had a rough week at work and you just want that Fat Tire sitting in the fridge. Do yourself a favor (not to mention your skiing partners), and get a group together to go on a beacon led scavenger hunt! Dig a hole, drop in the beacon and a cold one, cover it with a piece of plywood (protect the goods) and run a scenario. Fun twist; do a multiple burial with multiple searchers and only hide 1 beer... Extends the soberness so you get more practice!

OR, for those of you who are really good at beacon searches, see how it goes after a couple rounds of downing each beer that you find.

3) Make it a poker night, without the cards, empty expressions, and sitting... Invite a group of buddies over and start a cash pool of $5-$10 (or more if you like making it rain). Once every body has thrown in, lay down the rules. It's hard to do a timed competition, since everybody is watching and the beacon is probably moving each time, but get creative. Maybe you're going to split the pool, throw half the cash in with one beacon, and have half the people sit out and hide the beacons the first time. Then, once half the group found the multiple beacons, and only one person got paid, switch up the groups and rerun it. The possibilities are certainly endless, but who doesn't like getting cash for practicing?!

Remember, there's nothing more serious in backcountry skiing than an avalanche burial, so stop talking and start practicing! Perform range checks when you hit the trail with everybody in the group, regardless of the beacon brand. For even better practice, find a path with slides in it and set up a burial situation. an hour of training in real conditions will show you more of what to expect should you ever have to actually ski over avy debris holding your beacon and especially digging through gnarly ice chunks. Be conscious of what you're doing, but keep it light and have fun!

Avalanche Airbag Comparison

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