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7.3
Emergency Plan
The emergency plan shows the elementary steps for a successful companion rescue.
Depending on the situation at hand, the procedure must be adapted.
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C o m p a n i o n R e s c u e
7.
Companion Rescue
Companion rescue means that buried subjects are
located and excavated by members of their party
immediately after the avalanche slide. Avalanche res-
cue is a race against time! While most buried sub-
jects can be rescued within the first 15 minutes, the
chances of survival decrease rapidly afterwards.
Companion rescue, therefore, provides the greatest
chances of survival for a buried subject.
7.1
If an Avalanche Occurs
As a Victim:
●
Escape to the side
●
Discard skis, snowboards, and poles
➜
anchor effect
●
Try to stay on top
●
Close your mouth; place your hands in front of
your face
➜
clear airway when the avalanche stops
Separate instructions apply for the use of specialized
safety equipment, such as the highly efficient ava-
lanche airbag.
As a Witness:
●
Memorize the last seen point as well as the
direction of the avalanche
➜
primary search strip
(See chapter «Primary Search»).
7.2
Rescue Equipment
Carrying the proper personal safety equipment is crit-
ical for effective companion rescue. A transceiver, a
shovel, and a probe pole are necessary to localize
and excavate a buried subject quickly and efficiently.
Mammut offers a variety of suitable probe poles and
shovels.
Carrying a radio or a mobile phone to call for help is
highly recommended.
The use of the transceiver precedes the use of the probe pole and
the use of the probe pole precedes the use of the shovel.
Primary
Search Phase:
Search pattern
for one rescuer
Probe / Mark / Excavate
Checklist for
companion rescue
Tone-Only mode instruc-
tions (without display)
Search pattern for
multiple rescuers
Secondary
Search Phase:
Coarse search
Pinpointing
