Online Since 2001
Online Chat
Order Before 1pm, DPD Next Day Delivery
Online Since 2001
Online Chat
Order Before 1pm, DPD Next Day Delivery
Avalanches can be physically and mentally damanding, Snowsafe breakdown what happens to your body in an avalanche, why voice is calming and how you can contereact stress in a avalanche situation.
It’s common when you are caught in an avalanche slide or emergency situation that your body’s nervous system responds by releasing a number of stress hormones such as
which rouse the body for emergency action. Your heart pounds faster, muscles tighten, blood pressure rises, breath quickens, and your senses become sharper.
Stress response leads to improved physical performance, but at the same time reduces our cognitive capacity and targeted actions become difficult.
As you know technical ski equipment like Airbags, Two way radios and Beacons have really evolved over the years and now Ortovox are the first brand in the world to introduce voice navigation into there new Ortovox Diract Voice Beacon.
In a stressful situation, voice is key, A voice makes your body feel less alone and calmer, stress levels will fall and your cognitive ability improves.
When voice and instructions are direct, we save ourselves one step in the processing sequence. Clear instructions mean we need less cognitive capacity.
Voice is something you learn during most First Aid courses.
It’s common when a avalanche slide happens that you feel alone. Your ski companion goes under, There no where to be seen, your body starts to stress and release panic hormones which tests your cognative capcity skills.
Hearing a voice makes your body feel less alone and calmer, your stress levels fall and your cognative ability improves which means you can start your Beacon search process.
As voice is a key player in the search process, Ortovox bring a new beacon to season 2021, The Ortovox Diract Voice is the worlds First Avalanche Transceiver with Integrated Voice Navigation. Clear, Simple Instructions support you in every search phase and provide calm and clarity when your partner’s survival is of utmost importance.
 |
 |
 |
After 13 minutes of being buried under the snow your chances of survival becomes slim, Without a voice or noise above the surface your body starts to feel lonely, your heart rate increases and your cognative capacity does not allow you to keep calm or think positive.
When buried and in state of shock it’s important to keep calm by breathing deeply and giving your ski companions the best possible way of locating you, Most oftenly you will be located by the singal from your Avalanche Transceiver or if your wearing a Recco reflector the mountain rescue team will pick up a singal using there Detector device, Over 950+ organisations and mountain rescue teams use this worldworld.
Voice is also important for your ski companions trying to locate you, breath deeply and shout your ski campanions name every 30 to 45 seconds.
By shouting your ski companions name it will allow them to keep calm and continue there search process to locate you.
In order to prepare for an avalanche it is advisable to practice actions until they become automatic.
If you regularly practice the sequence of using your Avalanche Beacon, Shovelling and Probing techniques, or test deploying your Airbag you can naturally recall it more easily and fall back on a structured course of action.
If you ski the backcountry in groups then its important to do your morning avalanche bulletin to decide who will play which role in an avalanche situation.
This not only saves time, it also improves your ability to make quick, rational decisions under the influence of stress.
Therefore: Don’t rush into action, even if you are under pressure to act immediately. First, take a few deep breaths.
Thinking takes a bit more time. In general, the following rule applies: Do as much as you can in advance to simplify the complexity of the situation.
It’s important to stay safe and have the correct training when skiing or snowboarding off-piste please check out further blogs below:
If you would like to feature a blog about your organisation or experience in the snow please feel free to contact us on info@snowsafe.co.uk or 01273 003925. We are happy to take guest blogs linking back to your website.
