Safety boost: rescue practice

Manuel Genswein wades through Snowbird's waist-high snow, pausing to push a long pole deep into a drift.

"I got one," he yells up the mountain.

Genswein's success is echoed by a siren and a red light signifying he has found an avalanche victim — well, at least a simulated one.

The "victim" is actually a radio transmitter buried deep beneath the snow as part of an automated avalanche rescue facility opened Thursday at Snowbird resort. The computerized training course, brought in by Genswein from Switzerland, is the first in North America.

"We want people to be responsible for themselves," said Dean Cardinale, president of Wasatch Backcountry Rescue. "People don't spend the time needed to learn how to use their equipment, but in an avalanche you only have a short amount of time."

The new training system allows anyone to simulate a victim search using signals sent from a transmitter buried in the snow to one carried by the rescuer. Users can select the number of victims for their practice session on an outdoor computer hub, which then times how long it takes to find and tap the buried transmitter with a metal probe.

The most unusual aspect, Cardinale said, is that the training ground — about the size of a football field — is open free to the public so that backcountry skiers can hone their search and rescue skills on their own.

Most backcountry skiers and hikers carry transceivers with them in the mountains to locate partners quickly in case of an avalanche. That immediate response is key, Cardinale said, because the chance of survival dips below 70 percent after the first 15 minutes of a snow slide.

"With the new technology, a lot of transceivers are on the market, but a lot of people that have them don't spend the time to know how to work them," Cardinale said. "This makes a drill fun and accessible."

Finding a convenient and enjoyable way to practice avalanche rescue is what prompted Genswein to create the automated practice field. Genswein will team up with Wasatch Backcountry Rescue again next week to set up a similar training search area in Summit County's Canyon resort.

"People are so much more willing to get trained if the exercise has the character of a competition. They're almost a hero," he said. "And this comes as close to the real avalanche rescue scenario as you can get."

The need for better avalanche rescue training for the public was underscored Thursday as avalanche activity closed Little Cottonwood Canyon until late morning. Cardinale said several slides reached roadways, giving a prime example of why the best training for backcountry enthusiasts is being prepared beforehand.

"The best chance of saving someone's life is before they get in an avalanche," he said.

The Utah Avalanche Center reported 45 observed avalanches in the Salt Lake, Park City and Ogden areas in the past month. The center also issued an avalanche warning for those areas through this weekend because of heavy snow, strong winds and slightly higher temperatures.

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E-mail: estewart@desnews.com