I haven't seen this on /out yet. I'm not entirely sure

Shovel, probe, beacon.

A class on how to use them.

A bro that has the same and taken the class, also.

>backcountry skiier

how sad it must be to live in USA and love nature

>>750807
Here in the alps you need a ABS backpack as well.

>>750769
Is that one of those boards that you convert into tiny skies? Any tips about getting one?

>>750826
Context? do you mean our decreasing snow levels or complete lack of respect for... anything really?

>>750924
Yes it is. This is my first split board. I picked it up second-hand for $200 with skins and a pole. It's a diy job. There are two ways to get a split board. The first is to buy the setup; or you can cut your old board in half and install a diy kit. The different sets I have seen are the Voile system (which I have) and the Karakoram.

The voile seems versatile and easy to use. The only problem I've really experienced is that the pins that make them modular have come out while I've been in ski mode; but only when I've eaten shit 'cause of ice [Crampons are a MUST for icy conditions... learned that the hard way]. Real simple and I'd assume cheaper than the karakoram system. You can use your own bindings and boots with this system too which I like.

The Karakoram system looks cool as fuck. I also like how you can attach your crampons without taking your skis off. You can't use your own bindings though which kind of turns me off. I like the latching system too. I don't think that they have a diy kit though.

Also: I don't think they'd be considered "tiny skis". they're about the same length as my kinda-powder skis. I mean it's just a board cut down the middle.

>>750807
I know I'll probably get a scolding... but I have not yet aquired these stuffs. I have been too broke to purchase the safety gear YET; and the classes around here are earlier in the season than when I started. My first thing to do next season is to take a class (I may even do ski patrol and get it through them) and I will definitely have the three necessities by then. So for now I'm trying to take it easy and have been doing as much research on snow and avalanches as I can to at least have some semblance of safety while I'm out.

>>751040
Thank you man. I'm going to look into it.

You might be interested in checking this: http://www.tetongravity.com/forums/showthread.php/114315-DIY-Alpine-Touring-binding

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>>750837
Pack's the one piece of avalanche gear that you wear for yourself. I wear Snowpulse packs. They are expensive, BCA has some lower-cost packs, but they're still expensive. They're something I highly recommend, have friends alive today because of them, but spend the money on beacon/shovel/probe first; you carry that stuff for your friends.

>>751046
Don't know if there's an equivalent non-motorized video, but I really like the Throttle Decisions series. Canadian av center put it together a few years ago. There's a couple chapters on using the equipment. While it is focused on motorized recreation, the rescue techniques are the same.
https://vimeo.com/search?q=throttle+decisions

>>750807
Seconding this. Best equipment in the world won't help you if you don't know how to use it and coordinate a rescue effectively.

I'll also add, practice with your gear on occasion. Deploy your probe, poke around in the snowpack, get a feel for the conditions. If you have access to a beacon park, spend some time there getting familiar with coarse and pinpoint searching. Shovel's a simple tool, but there are techniques to make that as efficient as possible.

Check the avalanche forecast in the morning before you head out too. That resource is there for you.

>>751332
That's a badass diy!

>>751430
I'll check that video series out thank you. I've been watching a lot from the avalanche guys. I think they're us forest service. I like the amount of content and case studies they have. Their vids go over a ton of situations. After watching a bunch I am getting a grasp of how to analyze the findings of test pits... however I am definitely not replacing proper training with this.

>>751430
That's a big group! Is that your local group or a trek group or what?

>>752304
Looks like some sort of sar practice. No way you have that many friends willing to follow you into the mountains that well equiped. That's either autistic as we are or a job. Chances are it's a job.

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>>752303
http://www.fsavalanche.org/ is the FS's av center page. IMO the local forecast centers get you better info for your region.
Avalanche.org is a good site to bookmark, since it has links to all the local forecast centers in a convenient map.

My local one (http://avalanche.state.co.us/) and Montana's (http://www.mtavalanche.com/) are both real good. CAIC's got the best accident report search - can either search by map (for CO) or by table. The statistics page lets you pick and choose by state, activity, year, and month.

>>752304
Doing a scenario at an intro class in late December.
I teach and help others teach motorized-specific avalanche classes.
Had about 12 students that day, led by a pro backcountry rider, and also had one of the regional avalanche professionals along with us. Had a couple industry guys in the class, including two from one of my sponsors, with us that day.
>pic related

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>>752313
Very few people I ride with don't have gear (beacons/shovel/probe/pack) and training.
Snowmobiling especially, there's no reason not to have the gear. If you can afford a new sled (mine's about $15k, along with a truck/trailer to haul it around), another $1000 for a pack and good gear just isn't an excuse.

And since both I and the outfit I work with have sponsors, letting someone in the group wear a spare pack or try different gear isn't a big deal for me. I've got enough equipment in my house to outfit two riders head-to-toe in gear. There's about $20k just in backpacks in our trailer.

SAR is an interesting group. "Good ol' boys club" is a good way to define them.
Start another "SAR Stories" thread if you want... i'm not going to pollute this one with that content.

comment too long, fuck off 4chins...
>55 gallons of 110-octane fuel unrelated

>>752316
Nice af. Pls be here more often. You are actually someone that needs a tripcode. Never ever imagine I would write that. But there's a lot of us poorfags that would really appreciate you sharing your experiences.

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>>752303
>analyze the findings of test pits
There's really not that much to them, and they don't have to be "formal" test pits.
With a snowmobile (aka, "two-stroke 800cc 155"x2.6"-tracked powered shovel"), I can pull the skis up and let my track dig in to clear out a test slope real easy. Use a shovel handle to isolate the column and give it a few taps on top to see how reactive the snow on that aspect/elevation is.
As a snowmobiler, I focus a lot more on terrain evaluation other than pits. If I were to dig a pit on every aspect I cross that could potentially slide, I'd spend half my day digging pits. They're really more of a formality than a thing you do on a sled. Non-motorized, you're spending more time on that slope, so the time it takes to dig a pit and get a better idea of the snowpack is sometimes worth it.

>Be me, doing a class in January
>Chased the storm... was in MT for some training, snow was shit up there, but a big storm was moving through CO
>Forecasters calling for 8-12 inches this weekend
>Get out there, turns out there's 1-2 feet on the ground with more on the way overnight
>DSC000FUCKINGEPIC.JPG
>Avalanche forecasts storm slab hazards on top, with potential to break down into deep slab
>Doing a pit test, since the storm closed a bunch of roads and our class was small which gave us time to go over stuff we don't usually cover in an intro class
>Isolate the pit, couple taps on top
>Storm slab breaks loose
>Pick it off the top, look at the bed surface that slid on (solar crust)
>Couple more taps on the column that hasn't broken
>Couple taps from the elbow
>Couple taps from the shoulder
>It breaks loose - deeper in the snow pack, on a depth hoar layer almost to the ground
>Exactly confirmed what the forecast center said for that day
>Pic extremely related

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>>752333
That better?

Kicked off a project about two years ago to get beacon checkpoints installed at trailheads. Got two installed in March... probably get funding and buy-in from clubs to maintain them to get half a dozen more installed for next season.
Did a video shoot after we installed them, haven't seen that video yet. Suspect it'll drop early next season, as we put in the checkpoints.

Big end-of-season ride next weekend, we do a fundraiser for the beacon checkpoints there (What was raised at last year's event went into the two prototypes in >pic related). Got a bunch of kickass donations to give away this year, and it should be a big turnout.

Might even do some engineering work with the manufacturer this summer, see if I can drive the cost of the checkpoint electronics down a bit (or at least make them more manufacturable) before the next run in the fall.

Have a couple more beacon/avalanche-training related engineering projects I need to dedicate some time to this summer as well.

>>752332
>Very few people I ride with....

I was not trying to undermine your work m8. I'm just ignorant about the whole mountain thing. I thought sar was in charge of that. I'm not shitting on sar's work nor yours. You are here, in /out/, we don't know everything, come on m8 what's wrong with you being so defensive.

>>752340
>get funding
>we do a fundraiser

JFC you serious? You need to do that to make money to actually prevent people from dying or save people? Your cuntree is filled with rich fucks and you have to ask for money to be able to save a life?? Fuck this world. It's pointless.

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>>752343
Wasn't intended to be defensive, sorry if it came across that way.

I suspect snowmobilers are more willing to throw more money into the sport (and equipment to do it safely) than other user groups. Like I said, new sleds are $10k+. Even a decent used one is still $$$. Then there's the rest of the "stuff" - truck/trailer to haul it, fuel to feed the truck/sled, maintenance, insurance... It can be done on the cheap, but it's certainly not a poor-man's sport.
When I look at the cost of my sled, my truck, and fuel (just shy of 10k miles on the truck just snowmobile-related travel this season, at 10mpg).... that $1000 pack is fucking cheap insurance.

I'll ride with anyone once. The guys that have the gear and are willing to learn are the guys I'll ride with again. There's a handful of people who don't care - "that stuff only happens to other people", "I don't ride in avalanche terrain", whatever the excuse... I won't ride with till their attitude changes.
I want to go home at the end of the day, and in avalanche terrain, I'm putting my life in the hands of those I ride with.

SAR is in charge of search and rescue. They do very little education, most of what they spend their time doing is training.
Nonprofit I teach through has been working with regional SAR orgs to build a "local area experts" pool ... Individuals who have solid riding skills and equipment to get deep into the backcountry for big rescues that SAR doesn't have the budget/dedication to do.
The few motorized SAR guys usually bring their own mountain sleds, since SAR doesn't have budgets for a fleet of $10k+ snowmobiles every few years. The majority of those guys are non-motorized - skiers, snowshoers. Don't get me wrong - they're good at what they do, but when a strong mountain snowmobiler calls in and needs help, it's going to be days for someone on snowshoes to get to them.
Like I said though, "Good ol' boys club" - SAR is really reluctant to let "outsiders" into their club.

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>>752344
Wouldn't say it directly saves lives.... does raise awareness that you're travelling in avalanche terrain, and that you need to "turn your brain on" and make good decisions through the day.

Product development is expensive. Professionally I'm an electrical engineer, I design shit for a living. Small-runs are expensive, especially custom PCB fabrication, small-quantity parts orders (electronic components, enclosures), and various NRE costs.
Got a great team of volunteers that put a lot of effort into making things happen, but that only goes so far, and things still cost money.... bills still have to be paid.

As the checkpoint program grows, the cost per unit will go down a lot. The way it's structured, local businesses can chip in $$ to get their name as a sponsor on the checkpoint, gets them some advertising and support from local riders... with that, it should cut our cost to almost nothing. Local clubs that do the grooming and trail maintenance will take ownership of the stations, make sure it's in good working condition, pack the snow down around it, raise/lower it as snow levels dictate.
Other issue is forest circus permitting - jumping through all those hoops to get a station installed.
Lots of logistics behind the scenes that most people don't see.

I'd love to have some rich fuck write a check and make it happen. I've been looking for them.

>>752354
>I'd love to have some rich fuck write a check and make it happen. I've been looking for them
usually those are going to be corporate sponsors that can write the donation off as an advertising expense.

I happen to own a business in one of the places you like to ride. Your work doesn't sound like the kind of thing I'd put my name on, but there's lots of businesses that would, I have no doubt. Some of your sled manufacturers might like to kick something in. Tour operators, local businesses, maybe even government grants or work with local colleges that teach backcountry safety.

a lot of options, that kind of money is out there.