Skier/Boarder Safety Necessities
Equipment Snowriders Need for Survival Scenarios on the Mountain
This article gives examples of safety equipment that skiers and snowboarders need in emergency, from survival tools to rescue aids to choices of backpacks and helmets.
The freedom of skiing and snowboarding brings responsibilities, because pursuit of this sport even within designated ski areas can lead to back-country wilderness gates, being lost in difficult out-of-bounds terrain, or injury and incapacitation somewhere out there on the mountain in the trees.
It's important to be prepared for the worst possibility with a few items that won't be in the way on a good day.
A spare sock could save your life. It's a bandage, towel, tourniquet, glove, scarf, pillow, handkerchief, string, kindling, and toilet paper, although not all at once. And to be lost in the alpine wild is to have wet feet, so a dry change of socks is nice at first and medically necessary later on.
A plastic freezer baggy stores dry goods in a wet environment, wet goods in a dry one, and can be used to access drinking water in a few ways. Snow could be scooped into the bag and melted for consumption, or torn green vegetation could be put in the bag and left in the sun, where water will evaporate out and condense into a drinkable form.
A pack of matches is a good thing to have inside the plastic baggy, assuming it's not full of trail mix or melting snow. Aside from providing fire for heat or rescue signals, the matchbook can be used as writing paper.
A capped ball-point pen helps to write on the matchbook. It also offers the acrid smell of burning plastic to frighten predators or summon rescuers, and can be broken into strong sharp shards. And the pen can be disassembled into a drinking straw, for taking advantage of standing puddle-water, or better still, running water as in a stream.
A whistle, preferably brightly colored plastic, should be kept handy in the breast pocket for summoning help quickly. Many whistles have a key-ring on the end, which is good for attaching a compass.A flashing light like for night-bicycling could be essential in a rescue attempt in the dark, and is and cheap and transportable.
A backpack is a must-have. It carries most gear, allowing extra layers of clothing to be added or shed, and it supports and protects the back. A pack should have belts at the waist and shoulders to keep it snug, and should be large enough for a collapsable snow shovel with an avalanche probe in the shovel-handle. These latter items are required in the Colorado back-country and inside a few resorts, along with an avalanche beacon.
Food and water are essential. Dried fruit, energy bars, or trail mix (also called gorp) are favorites. A plastic water bottle as sold in convenience stores is smaller, softer, cheaper, and just as reusable as brand-name sporting equipment bottles. An airplane-sized bottle of booze makes a nice hand-warmer and pain-reliever, and it too is refillable.
Aspirin. Enough said.
A metallic safety blanket, while folded, is the size of a pack of cards. But it can windproof a cold person on a freezing night, and its wrinkled reflective surface is great for alerting rescuers by using available ambient light.
A helmet is a no-brainer, pun intended. This most obvious of safety items is required for children at most ski areas, just as a helmet is required for motorcyclists and a seatbelt for those in automobiles. But the helmet is still left optional for adults at many ski resorts. Opt for one with adjustable vents and removable earflaps.
Keeping these items on your person and alertness in your mind will minimize skiing and snowboarding dangers. Ride safe.
