Avalance safety gear

The best strategy for surviving an avalanche is to avoid being caught in one in the first place. Whether you’re skiing, snowboarding, or snowshoeing in the backcountry, it’s crucial to be trained in avalanche awareness and to understand the conditions and terrain you plan to explore. While avalanche safety gear is essential, it’s only effective if you know how to use it, and none of this equipment can prevent an avalanche from occurring. Each person in your group should carry key safety tools, including a transceiver (or avalanche beacon), a probe and a shovel, as these are vital for locating and rescuing buried companions. A newer addition to backcountry safety is the avalanche airbag backpack, which can increase your chances of staying on the surface during an avalanche. However, gear alone is not enough; every member of your group must undergo avalanche skills training to be prepared for the challenges and risks of the backcountry. Stop by your local MEC to find all types of avalanche safety tools with advice from our expert staffers.

Avalanche transceivers and beacons

Avalanche transceivers, also called avalanche beacons, are compact electronic devices that emit a radio signal. Each member of your group must wear their own transceiver. In the event of an avalanche where someone is buried, the rest of the group can switch their devices to search mode to locate the buried individual using the transmitted signal. While modern transceivers are designed to be relatively user-friendly, it’s essential to practice with them regularly to ensure proficiency. Always turn on your transceiver at the start of your trip and leave it on throughout the day (“on at the car, off at the bar”).

Avalanche probes

Probes, made of aluminum or carbon fiber, resemble collapsible tent poles and typically extend to 240–300cm. For areas with deep snowpacks, 320cm probes are available. Beyond avalanche rescue, probes are also handy for testing crevasse bridges, assessing cornices, and measuring snowpack depth (especially with longer probes). Always ensure your probe is in good condition. Frequent use can wear out the mechanisms that lock the sections in place, and a malfunctioning probe could fail at a critical moment during a search.