Avalanche Beacon Alert

Last week, the French web site Pistehors.com posted an advisory that has been sent to owners of Ortovox F1 beacons. It warns that these older analog beacons can search just fine but there's a chance that newer digital beacons (nearly all that have been sold in the past 5 years) may not find them when buried by an avalanche. Since many skiers wear a beacon like it's a cloak of invincibility, this should be a scary thought…immobilized under four feet of snow, slowly losing consciousness, and realizing that your friends can't find you because you're wearing an old beacon.

While this Ortovox alert may sound alarming, in truth it's old news and it applies to all older beacons. There are two major issues: signal drift and beacon fragility. And few skiers are aware of either problem.

Although all beacons sold in the past two decades broadcast and receive on the 457 kHz frequency, the newer beacons are much more intolerant of any variation. The ETSI standard requires all beacons to search in this range +/- 80 Hz. Unfortunately, with time and lots of small bumps, some beacons can end up broadcasting outside of this margin of error. The older analog beacons can still receive such errant signals. But many of the newer digital ones cannot.

The Pieps DSP has a unique feature that can measure the signal from other beacons and tells you how close they are to the ideal. But this test must be performed in advance--it does you no good at the trailhead. If your beacon is over or under by 50Hz, it must be sent in for repair. And for most older analog beacons, such as the F1, spare parts are no longer available. Hence the Ortovox advisory.

These analog beacons are not obsolete. In the hands of an experienced searcher, they can be just as fast as any of the fancy new digital beacons. But if you don't test them for drift, they can be a safety placebo.

And herein lies the second major problem with avalanche beacons: they are far more fragile than most people realize. The ETSI standard (ETS 300-718) only requires that a sample beacon operate properly after 6 drops from a height of 3 feet onto a wooden floor. For a piece of lifesaving equipment, that is a very low durability requirement. Skiers likely do not realize how easy it is to damage their beacons. It is quite possible to damage them internally so that they can pass a beacon check at the trailhead (you do one every time, right?!) but malfunction when the shit hits the fan.

That Ortovox France felt it necessary to send owners of their F1 beacons an advisory brings up a overarching problem with avalanche beacons. The outdoor industry as a whole is doing a poor job of educating consumers on what beacons can and cannot do. On his WildSnow blog, Lou Dawson recently discussed 3 myths of avalanche survival: beacons ensure rescue, being buried by an avalanche is no big deal, and you'll be fine once uncovered.

Consumers are sold these $200 to $500 electronic miracle boxes without the knowledge to use them safely. Sure the CDs that come with most beacons now cover the basics adequately but they certainly don't discuss any of the above. Magazines just focus on the glitz without talking about real issues that their advertisers would prefer left unsaid. Movies show gonzo skiers and boarders on gnarly terrain but never, ever the consequences. Store employees seldom get cliniced on more than how to get the box to the cash register, along with add-on sales of a shovel, probe pole, and perhaps an AvaLung.

Even avalanche education courses have focused more on what to do after you've screwed up than how to avoid the problem in the first place. A recent study showed that sidecountry skiers are entirely unprepared for what lays outside of ski area gates. And this same group is now targeted with price point beacons so they can have the illusion of being safer.

With this season shaping up to be the worst in North American history for avalanche fatalities, perhaps the outdoor industry will re-prioritize how to educate consumers about backcountry safety. But that could affect too many bottom lines so I'm not holding my breath.

Review: CAMP Pulse ski mountaineering helmet

I was getting ready to write a scathing review of the CAMP Pulse helmet after a disappointing experience. This is one of the only helmets on the market (Dynafit also makes one) that passes the CE standards for both skiing (rather weak) and climbing (quite demanding). The concept is brilliant for ski mountaineers, alpinists, and ice climbers. But I thought I'd found a major flaw.

We were up at Loveland ski resort recently and the wind was howling. Not only were my ears freezing but the ear flaps actually channeled wind in so that hearing was very difficult. It may not seem like a big deal but it truly can be during a storm. I tried readjusting the straps at lunch to no avail. This was particularly dismaying because Lou Dawson had given this helmet a positive review at Wildsnow.com; we don't always agree but this appeared to be a glaring oversight.

This morning, I discovered the problem...the earflaps were put on the wrong side. That’s how the helmet was shipped to me. But it’s an easy mistake since they are not marked left and right and the difference is subtle to the eye. Once I disassembled the flaps and put them on properly, the problem was solved. Now I've marked them to prevent the error after I remove the Winter Kit for summer skiing.

My bigger issues are matters of fit so these may or may not affect you. First, the sizing runs small compared to many other helmets. The size 2 just barely fits a large head; there’s no way it will fit anyone who takes extra large. They really need a size 3 as well.

Second, due to the very oval shape, I experienced significant pressure on the upper rear “corners” of my skull which I don’t get from other helmets (including the CAMP StarLight and Petzl climbing helmets and several different Giro bike and ski helmets). This pain isn't noticeable right away but it gets almost unbearable after a couple hours and there doesn't appear to be any easy modification possible.

Minor nits: The adjustable front vents can rotate slightly so they don’t quite align with the holes and the handle could use more texture so it's easier to operate while wearing gloves. The goggle clip is less than ideal when using a headlamp with a battery pack on the back.

As with many helmets, the side straps are difficult to adjust and the instructions are poorly written. Fitting helmets should be simpler so people will do it. Currently, few stores take the time to help customers get a proper fit and few will do anything more than tighten a chin strap. This means the helmet has a good chance of not working when it's actually needed due to improper position.

Still, the Pulse is a very nice helmet. Having been spoiled by ski helmets with adjustable vents (Giro and Smith), I will never go back to a helmet that lacks them. This is an invaluable feature for temperature control on the fly. In addition to the sliding front closures, the CAMP Pulse has removable plugs for the rear vents, which is an acceptable compromise to reduce weight.

The total weight of the Size 2 with the Winter Kit is 14.0 ounces. For comparison, a Giro Fuse is 13.7 ounces and a Giro Omen is 21.2 ounces--and neither can pass the climbing tests for energy absorption or penetration of a falling rock. The CAMP StarLight is 10.3 ounces but lacks the vents and earflaps for skiing.

Overall, assuming this helmet fits your head, the pluses far outweigh the minuses. At a price of $100, plus $20 for the Winter Kit, it is a good value and offers better than average performance.

Review: Terminator Tuning Package

Anyone with a quiver of skis should learn the basics of waxing and base tuning. Even if you can afford to take your skis in to a shop for tune-ups, the hassle of taking them in and going back later to pick them up means bases often go dry and edges remain rough. Tuned skis are happy skis!

However, many people don't have the space to setup a full workbench in their home. Thus a portable bench can be an great solution. The Terminator Tuning Stand from Tools4Boards.com provides a stable base for waxing and filing edges of any type of skis.

The model I've been using has their Cinch Ski Vise. This system has two end supports with wide, grippy platforms to support the inverted ski. To hold the ski in place, a cord is passed over the ski brakes and down to a cleat. When pulled tight, the brakes are retracted and the ski is secured to the platform. For skis without brakes (Nordic, telemark, and some AT bindings), the cord is passed through the binding. It's a simple system that works remarkably well. The Cinch platforms are also designed so that skis can be held sideways for serious edge filing.

When not in use, the legs on the Terminator quickly fold out of the way. When folded up, the stand is 54" x 7" x 4" so it can fit in a closet or many car trunks. Setting the stand up takes less than two minutes.

If you don't have tools already, the best deal is the package that includes the stand, vise system and tuning kit for $220 (including shipping). The only thing extra you'll need is a waxing iron and some wax. Overall, it's a well-designed system that will never wear out. After setting up the stand quite a few times, I did have to tighten the leg levers due to the paint wearing off (just needed a hex wrench and adjustable wrench).

Even though I have a nice workbench, more often than not, I find myself reaching for the Terminator (okay, dumb name) when it's time to tune skis. It's often faster to use than having to clear all the clutter off my workbench.