1 3 1 T ra v er sing Cr ossing Suspect Slopes Cr oss as high as possible lea ving most of the danger ous sno w belo w Put on mitt ens and spare clo thing Loosen pack and skis so that the y can be discar ded q uickly if caught Cr oss on e per son at a time and cr oss q uickly The rest of the par ty should w atch closely Should an a v alanche occur no t e the spo t where the victim w as last seen Caught in an A v alanc he Disca r d pack skis and o ther eq uipment Fight t o sta y on the sur f ace mak e swimming mo tions T r y t o mak e y our w a y t o the side of the a v alanche If buried inhale deeply as the a v alanche slo ws t o a st op and tr y t o mak e a breathing space in fr ont of y our f ace Sta y c a l m Do nt tr y t o fght t o the su r f ace u nle ss y ou can se e light Death is common b y asph yxiation The sno w consolidat es almost instantly af t er coming t o a st op The crushing w eight and e v entual lack of o xy gen are the leading killer s Sear c hing f or Sur viv or s Call f or h elp a sat ellit e phone is a must F ur ther a v alanches are possible P ost a look out and pick an escape r out e Mar k wh ere the victim w as last seen Mak e a q uick sear ch do wn the f all line fr om the mar k ed point P a y par ticular att ention ar ound trees and outcr ops List en f or the victims v oice Pr obe s uspect areas with re v er sed ski poles blunt ed ice ax es or the nearest eq uiv alent it ems