1 32 If a hasty sear ch pr o v es futile decide whe ther or no t t o go f or help R emember half of all victims die within 30 minut es man y die within fv e minut es Af t er tw o hour s a buried victims sur viv al chances are v er y lo w Fir st aid f or sur viv or s should treat suf f ocation and h ypo thermia Man y victims ha v e head and int ernal injuries as w ell Ev acuation t o a hospital is essential These no t es ha v e hardly begun t o treat the subject of a v alanc h es If y ou plan t o w or k in areas of high a v alanc he danger the f ollo wing st eps are recommended bef ore feld w or k begins T ak e a cour se in a v alanche saf e ty Ensure there are enough a v alanche beacons electr onic sear ch de vices f or the feld par ty Thor ough practice with e xperienced individuals is necessar y f or these t o be of v alue Find out if e xperienced per sonnel ha v e been hired t o monit or sno w conditions Learn from the past What e v e r the landscape miner al e xplor er s need t o be a w ar e of wint er hazar ds an d ho w t o addr ess them In Oct ober 20 1 2 tw o e xper ienced sur v e y or s w er e w or king on a slope taking GPS coor dinat es near the cam p when an a v alanc he occur r ed One of the w or k er s w as able t o get t o saf ety the o ther w as sw ept of f a clif f int o a gull y and did no t sur viv e