LVS-Gerät

Ich durfte das Set, bestehend aus dem ARVA EVO5, der 240 SKITRIP-Sonde und der SKITRIP-Schaufel diese Saison, im Zeitraum von November bis Februar, in den Tiroler Alpen testen. Hierbei ist es beim Freeriden und Splitboarden genutzt worden sowie in einem LVS-Workshop auf den Prüfstand gestellt worden.

More than 40 different courses were on the programme at the Arc'teryx Freeride Academy from 1 to 4 February 2024. PowderGuide was able to attend the Avalanche Awareness & Mountain Safety Clinic with Recco at the Arc'teryx Freeride Academy on a sunny and cloudless day. The avalanche course took place in a group of six participants plus two mountain guides in the terrain of the St. Anton am Arlberg ski resort. The course was designed for all levels of skiers/snowboarders and yet each person was able to expand their knowledge and skills individually. The exact daily programme of the Arc'teryx Clinic and the most important aspects and procedures of an avalanche search can be found here.

The Black Diamond Recon LT avalanche transceiver can unexpectedly switch to search mode even though the rotary switch is in the transmit position. The malfunction can be rectified by updating the device firmware to version v1.3 or higher. Black Diamond is conducting a voluntary recall for the device.

The avalanche transceiver has been at the heart of the French brand ARVA, which has specialised in winter safety equipment for over 30 years. The NEO BT PRO is the new high-performance avalanche transceiver and boasts a wealth of functions and a very large search strip width for successful and fast avalanche rescue.

BCA is carrying out a voluntary recall of the Tracker 4 avalanche transceiver for certain serial numbers. In Europe, only a small number of devices are likely to be affected. The reason for the recall is a possible problem with the plastic production of the rotary knob for switching the device on and off.

Pieps/Black Diamond is calling for a functional check to be carried out on most of the current avalanche transceivers it produces:

ISPO, an interesting but also very exhausting trade fair, has been moved from its usual date in January to the autumn. Nevertheless, we endeavour to provide an overview of market innovations at the usual time! As we were unable to scrutinise the material ourselves at ISPO, the information is based on press releases from the manufacturers, not all of which are sent out by any means. So: No guarantee for completeness!

Ortovox is launching an innovation onto the market with the Diract Voice. In search mode, the avalanche transceiver provides spoken instructions to help you find buried victims as quickly as possible.

January wasn't exactly at its best: down in the valley, climbing and mountain biking were already back on the agenda and up on the mountain, the last remnants of snow and artificial snow slopes were slowly but surely melting away. But before we get back into winter mode and start thinking about ski tours and freeride adventures, we ask ourselves when we last really took a close look at our equipment.

Anyone who has been out and about on touring skis for a while can observe a welcome development: More and more children and young people are on the mountain with their parents and are enthusiastic about this sport. This may be because fewer and fewer families are willing to pay the high lift prices or because long lift queues encourage them to climb up together using their own muscle power.

Before coronavirus, the monthly "SchneeSemmelnare" events organized by the Austrian Society for Snow and Avalanches (ÖGSL) were small lunchtime events in a seminar room in Innsbruck, usually with speakers from Tyrol. Since the switch to a digital format due to the pandemic, it has been possible to watch from anywhere and the speakers have also become more international: Manuel Genswein recently gave an update on companion rescue.

After a wide-ranging discussion about the locking mechanism on some Pieps avalanche transceivers at the beginning of the season, an exchange program was initially introduced. Now users of the affected models are called upon to contact Pieps in order to receive an improved carrying system for their device.