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Avalanche Accidents

What do you do if you get caught in an avalanche? The fact is that once an avalanche has been triggered, unless it really is minor it is almost impossible to do anything. Things happen very fast, and you need a fair amount of luck if you are caught in one. Call out to alert your companions and try to outrun it or ski off to the side of the avalanche if possible.

If you are caught:

 try to release your bindings

 release your ski poles

 try to stay on top of the snow by adopting a swimming or rolling motion

 before you are buried pull your knees up to your chest and cover your face in an attempt to create an air pocket

 if you can thrust a hand up and out of the snow do so

 try not to panic

 pray.

If you are looking on:

 keep an eye on the victim/s for as long as possible

 point and follow the victim with your finger until they are buried – it's easy to lose track of them in a mass of moving snow

 keep pointing until the position can be marked with a ski pole. This will speed up the search.