bca Tracker S - Considerate Partners; Group Travel Errors; Avoid Questionable Terrain; Caught in Avalanche

ENGLISH
76
Familiarization
Avalanche Awareness
Travel with considerate partners:
• Crosspotentiallydangerousterrainoneatatime.
• Identifyandpracticestoppinginsafezones.
• Haveanescaperouteinmindiftheslopedoesavalanche.
• Communicatewithyourpartnersbeforemovingontotheslope.
When traveling in a group, be aware of the errors groups
typically make:
• Recreatingatanareathat’sbeenvisitedwithoutincidentbefore
 andfeelingcondentinitsstability.
• Notspeakingoutorcommunicatingconcernsaboutapath
 orslope,fearingconict.
• Beingovercondentinthegroup’sabilities.
• Determinationtoreachadestinationwithoutre-evaluatingterrain
and conditions.
If in doubt, it is always best to avoid questionable terrain and return
when the snow is stable.
If you are caught in an avalanche:
• Yell“avalanche”andwaveyourarmstoalertyourgroup.
• Deployyouravalancheairbagifyouhaveone.
• Trytoescapetheslidebygrabbingtreesorrocksor“swimming”
to the side.
• Trytokeepyourairwayclearofsnow.
• Whenyoufeeltheslideslowing,thrustahandupwardinhopes
of it being seen.
• Placeyourotherhandinfrontofyourfacetoincreasethe
air space.
• Remaincalm,breatheslowlyandconserveyourair.
Searching for victims:
• Donotgoforhelp!Youarethevictim’sonlychanceofsurvival!
• Establishalastseenpoint.
• Conrmyouarenotindangerofasecondavalancheoccurring.
• Lookforvisualcluestothevictim’slocation.
• Beginyoursignalsearchforthevictimusingyouravalanche
transceiver.
Thank you for choosing Tracker S, featuring Tracker’s legendary
ease-of-use.
Remember,transceiversearchesareonlypartoftheavalancherescue
process. It is equally important to practice the probing and shoveling
techniques found later in this section. For training videos on transceiver
searching, probing, strategic shoveling, patient care, and evacuation,
please visit www.backcountryaccess.com/education.
Transmit mode: Fromthe‘O’position,pulltheslidinglock
n in the
direction of the arrow and turn the dial switch
j
on top of Tracker S to
thetransmit(“TR”)position(seeFigureC).
Figure C
Top view of
Tracker S.
The battery life is then shown in the distance/battery power display
k
in Figure A.
Afterdisplayingbatterypower,TrackerSashes“TR”andenterstransmit
mode. The transmit light
l
asheswitheverytransmitpulse.
Thislightwillnotashifthebatterypowerisbelow20percent.
Note:thebatterypercentageisapproximate.Replacebatteries
m
before
reaching40percent.Batteriesthatwereinstalledinthetransceiverthe
previous season should be replaced, as they can result in misleading
battery power readings.
Whenintransmitmode,theTrackerScannotbeturnedtooorsearch
without pulling back the sliding lock.
Search mode: Pull the sliding lock
n and rotate the dial
switchtothesearch(“SE”)position.Insearchmode,the
displaywillperiodicallyash“SE”untilasignalisdetected.
Upon detecting a transmitting signal, Tracker S will begin to
display distance and directional readings. At distances of less
than two meters, the directional lights are no longer shown.
Return to transmit: When in search mode, the sliding lock does not need
to be moved in order to return to transmit mode. Simply rotate the switch
backtothetransmitposition.TheTrackerwillbeepandash“TR”before
it begins to transmit.
After30minutesinsearchmode,TrackerSwillbeepeverytwominutes.
After12hoursintransmitmode,itwillbeepeverytwominutes.Thesebeeps
are reminders that there has been no user input and Tracker S is still on.