BE
PREPARED
Working in the mountains requires
a whole new level of emergency
preparedness. Make sure you
have what it takes to start and
end your workday safely.
By Jess Campbell
Anyone who works or plays in the mountains can picture it. And there are
an infinite number of YouTube videos if you can’t.
A pristine bed of powder on top of what seems like the tallest moun-tain
peak on earth, sparkling like a bed of diamonds under a cloudless
blue sky. An enthusiast of the mountains has attached a GoPro to their helmet. Flip
to the obligatory shot of ski tips hanging over the edge of where they’re about to
drop in. Said drop in occurs. Wind rushes the GoPro’s microphone as the blinding
white scenery whips through the camera’s field of vision. A mountain of fresh pow-der
truly is one of nature’s most beautiful offerings.
Then from the periphery of the shot, it becomes cloudy. Sound becomes muffled.
Visibility nil. All within about three seconds.
The mountain enthusiast is living their worst nightmare: they’ve been caught in
an avalanche.
The windy sound from before turns to a low, constant roar, matched with an odd
scratching noise as snow bombards the GoPro and all its parts – not to mention the
person it’s strapped to.
But alongside the roaring of snow and ragged, intermittent breathing of the
mountain enthusiast comes something that sounds like a vacuum being switched
on and off and on again.
The mountain enthusiast has pulled their airbag cord, an instinct that will keep
them from being sucked underneath the ever-compressing snow until the ava-lanche
comes to a stop. In other words, having a plan and knowing what to do when
things went south saved that mountain enthusiast’s life.
Danger zone
For most employees of mountain resorts, the likelihood of the above scenario hap-pening
to them while at work is quite small. Given that Canada boasts some of
the world’s most sought-after mountain resort destinations, safety of the employ-ees
who prepare resort terrain is a top priority. But emergency preparedness on a
mountainside can sometimes mimic emergency preparedness while driving a car:
you can never be fully prepared for an accident.
12 September 2017 | snowopsmag.com