• For more information on how to avoid pop-up ads and still support SkiTalk click HERE.

Cheap Beacon for Inbounds Skiing

stan51

Putting on skis
Skier
Joined
Jun 26, 2017
Posts
59
Location
Missoula, MT
When I took my Avi 1 course this winter, we tested the search range of our beacons. The folks with BCA Tracker 2s seemed to have the longest search range of all, including Tracker 3s and Pieps. It wasn't a huge difference, but 10 feet can be significant.
 

Snowflake2420

I70 is Life
Skier
Joined
Dec 25, 2016
Posts
464
Location
Denver
+1 on Tracker 2

Super easy to use, no doubt whether it's on/off, transmit/search. Something you could use in the future if you do guided skiing, touring, etc
 
Thread Starter
TS
Nathanvg

Nathanvg

Out on the slopes
Skier
Joined
Oct 29, 2016
Posts
525
I ordered a tracker 2. I suspect I will use it only a couple days a year but hopefully it lasts a decade or more.
 

John Webb

mdskier
Skier
Joined
Nov 14, 2015
Posts
5,779
Location
Nevada City CA
UPDATE: I just booked a last minute trip to Bridger and then Big Sky. Heading out in a little over a week so I need to order ASAP)
After the Pugski gathering At Big Sky I went to Bridger Bowl but had a very weird problem.

My cheap Used Ortovox ANALOG beacon purchased from a Colorado ski tour outfitter would not register at Bridger Bowl lift to the ridge. The lift attendant and others could see it fine They sent me up to the ski patrol house at the top of the lift. The patrollers were baffled also. 2 of them could not pick up a signal from my beacon. 4 of them got the signal fine. They decided it was working and gave me a manual waiver to ride the lift anyway

I’m puzzled as the only explanation I can come up with is this analog Ortovox is either not compatible with the current crop of digital beacons or it has drifted slightly off frequency. 3 days earlier I tried it in search mode at Big Sky’s Beacon Training Park where it found buried beacons just fine.
 

John Webb

mdskier
Skier
Joined
Nov 14, 2015
Posts
5,779
Location
Nevada City CA
UPDATE: I just booked a last minute trip to Bridger and then Big Sky. Heading out in a little over a week so I need to order ASAP)
After the Pugski gathering At Big Sky I went to Bridger Bowl but had a very weird problem.

My cheap Used Ortovox ANALOG beacon purchased from a Colorado ski tour outfitter would not register at Bridger Bowl lift to the ridge. The lift attendant and others could see it fine They sent me up to the ski patrol house at the top of the lift. The patrollers were baffled also. 2 of them could not pick up a signal from my beacon. 4 of them got the signal fine. They decided it was working and gave me a manual waiver to ride the lift anyway

I’m puzzled as the only explanation I can come up with is this analog Ortovox is either not compatible with the current crop of digital beacons or it has drifted slightly off frequency. 3 days earlier I tried it in search mode at Big Sky’s Beacon Training Park where it found buried beacons just fine.
@John Webb - Scroll down to Frequency Drift and Transceiver Performance

Absolutely time to replace your beacon.
Very interesting and thorough article -about what I expected. Thanks for posting. It is a Ortovox F2.
I wonder if the the frequency can be adjusted back to the 80hz spec ?
 

Primoz

Skiing the powder
Skier
Joined
Nov 8, 2016
Posts
2,483
Location
Slovenia, Europe
I don't really get this thing... No offense John Webb, as it's not directed (only) at you, but your post was just last trigger for me. New beacon is in range of $300 and you can easily use it for 5+ years, which means about $60/year, probably less. That's price of daily ski ticket in Europe, and based on what I have read here probably price of single beer on mountain in US. We are talking about avi beacons, that in case of avalanche (I guess we can agree by now, that even inbounds and in "controlled" terrain, avalanches happen more often then someone would hope for) is >THE ONLY< way that gives you chance to stay alive. And for life saving tool like this is $60/year too much??? Seriously?
 

HDSkiing

You’re Sliding On-Snow; Don’t Over-Think it!
Skier
Joined
Oct 4, 2017
Posts
319
Location
The Rocky Mountains
Why a beacon and not an inflation pack? Or why not both? Serious question as the pack seems to me to be proactive, something that you can activate yourself while a beacon is reactive, others have to come find you.

I don’t ski in avalanche prone areas/back country etc. (unless you count Taos & I don’t as an inbounds avi is so rare) so I have little knowledge or experience with snow slides...but if that changes in the future and I take up backcountry skiing for example I think I’d opt for the inflation pack over the beacon in terms of my first line of defense. The cost is is not something that would go into my calculus, as even a $1500 inflation pack seems cheap compared to your life.
 

Scott Martin

Booting up
Skier
Joined
Mar 15, 2019
Posts
22
Location
San Diego, CA
Why a beacon and not an inflation pack? Or why not both? Serious question as the pack seems to me to be proactive, something that you can activate yourself while a beacon is reactive, others have to come find you.

I don’t ski in avalanche prone areas/back country etc. (unless you count Taos & I don’t as an inbounds avi is so rare) so I have little knowledge or experience with snow slides...but if that changes in the future and I take up backcountry skiing for example I think I’d opt for the inflation pack over the beacon in terms of my first line of defense. The cost is is not something that would go into my calculus, as even a $1500 inflation pack seems cheap compared to your life.

I ski inbounds with my airbag pack (BD Jetforce Tour 26) when doing sidecountry stuff, but even though it is one of the lightest, and most compact airbag packs available, it's still a bulky pack for the chair lift. Given the rarity of inbounds slides, I'd bet the odds of a backpack related chair accident are significantly higher than needing the airbag (and yeah, you can take your pack off each ride, but I get lazy, and even when taking it off, that means more stuff in your hands). So while the airbag pack might provide significantly more benefit than a beacon alone (while there is anecdotal evidence to back this, there is a distinct lack of objective proof), there are also risks associated with it, while carrying a beacon has no downside.

In terms of just carrying a beacon, without a shovel and probe, skiing inbounds is different than out of bounds. Backcountry you are the only help available, inbounds there is a entire team whose job it is to deal with emergencies. So yeah, a shovel and a probe (and knowledge how to use them) is 'better', that brings back the pack issue on chair lifts. A beacon alone can be put in a pocket or warn in its harness without a downside. Plus, I've actually been at a resort when an inbounds slide occurred, I only had my beacon, but helped search while patrol was arriving (there was only one burial and he was found visually.) I've only read about people getting hurt/killed in inbounds slides, while I've personally seen several people get injured due to pack issues on lifts.
 

Primoz

Skiing the powder
Skier
Joined
Nov 8, 2016
Posts
2,483
Location
Slovenia, Europe
I always say I'm skiing in Europe and I don't have any real knowledge about skiing in US, but reading here and elsewhere, I would say inbound avalanches do happen. Next to that, I have quite some knowledge about snow and avalanches, especially as over here, your life depends on it if you want to ski not groomed stuff. That's why I know, there's simply no 100% safe terrain, even if there was avalanche mitigations going on. I guess all these inbound slides you had just this winter proves that.
I'm sure most of people, who were never in backcountry, don't really realize potential dangers and take stuff easy. But reality is, breaking leg and then waiting for help is something completely different then getting into avalanche and waiting for being dig out. For broken leg, you can literally lay there for hours and except for some pain, nothing bad will happen. In avalanche you have just few minutes time, and then you die. Even with all patrolers around, I doubt they can gather team locate and dig out person in 15min after avalanche happened. As I wrote, I don't know anything about skiing in US, but I would be honestly surprised if there's crew of patrolers waiting on top of every single run. And even if it would, it takes time for them to reach site etc. So at least for me, inbounds or backcountry is same thing, as long as inbounds is off piste. You have less chances to get caught in avalanche but you still have.
Next, ABS or beacon. I would say both. As soon as I step out of groomed piste, both are with me (plus of course showel and probe), even if it's spring snow and avi level is at 1. ABS gives you more chances to stay on top once it slides, and if you are out there alone, it's your only protection (of course next to your brains which tells you if you should go or not). But it doesn't guarantee you will stay on top. As soon as you are not on top, beacon is only chance people around you will find you still alive. That's why both. Sure ABS is a bit bulky and not super comfortable on lift, but staying alive is more important for me that comfort on lift :) Price? It's cheap compared to your life... at least for me. :)
 

Monique

bounceswoosh
Skier
Joined
Nov 12, 2015
Posts
10,561
Location
Colorado
Why a beacon and not an inflation pack? Or why not both? Serious question as the pack seems to me to be proactive, something that you can activate yourself while a beacon is reactive, others have to come find you.

I don’t ski in avalanche prone areas/back country etc. (unless you count Taos & I don’t as an inbounds avi is so rare) so I have little knowledge or experience with snow slides...but if that changes in the future and I take up backcountry skiing for example I think I’d opt for the inflation pack over the beacon in terms of my first line of defense. The cost is is not something that would go into my calculus, as even a $1500 inflation pack seems cheap compared to your life.

Both are great - both require practice. Unlike the beacons, the packs need to be reloaded, and the reloads can get expensive, and would tend to mean you won't practice much. I believe they also require maintenance. You also need to have the reflexes and ability to trigger the airbag in time to matter. And as others have mentioned, they're bulky and heavy. I think the packs are a great idea, and I've heard many avy experts say as much - but also note that increased weight means slower travel time, depending on your fitness, and safer touring also requires sometimes moving at a brisk pace to either get past a sketchy area, or to finish the tour before snow conditions change and become more dangerous.

But most importantly, the air bag has zero impact on others' survival. You can use a beacon to save someone else's life. Presumably, you'd like to help keep your touring partner alive.
 

Ken_R

Living the Dream
Skier
Joined
Feb 10, 2016
Posts
5,775
Location
Denver, CO

pais alto

me encanta el país alto
Skier
SkiTalk Supporter
Joined
Nov 11, 2015
Posts
1,937
Location
Both are great - both require practice. Unlike the beacons, the packs need to be reloaded, and the reloads can get expensive, and would tend to mean you won't practice much.
Black Diamond and at least one other manufacturer, whose name(s) I can’t recall right now but they’re Euro(s), make packs that don’t require canisters - basically they inflate by a battery powered fan, which will make practicing a lot easier and cheaper. But you have to keep the battery charged.

But most importantly, the air bag has zero impact on others' survival. You can use a beacon to save someone else's life. Presumably, you'd like to help keep your touring partner alive.
^This is a key reason why you carry a beacon. But I noticed that a significant number of people here are, or would, only carry a beacon to be rescued, not to be a rescuer.
 

James

Out There
Instructor
Joined
Dec 2, 2015
Posts
24,453
I think I’d opt for the inflation pack over the beacon in terms of my first line of defense.
Air bag packs are pretty standard in Europe. I seriously doubt you'll find one person with an airbag and not a beeper though. Even those who ski alone. For one, why would anyone ski with someone without a beeper and shovel to find you. If anyone is solo, they're highly experienced and wouldn't leave home without one.
You can debate this all you want, but no one with any experience is telling people to get an airbag before a beeper. Get both or get a beeper, that's the only sensible choice. Both options need a shovel and probe.
 

Ken_R

Living the Dream
Skier
Joined
Feb 10, 2016
Posts
5,775
Location
Denver, CO
Honestly I though about getting the airbag pack but decided not to for several reasons:

1- Cost
2- Weight
3- I asked myself would I go to places with the airbag that I would not go without it? Eh, No.

My #1 Mission when in the backcountry is Avalanche Avoidance

If I worked as a patrol or in search and rescue I might have one since the nature of the work will put me in higher risk situations.
 

Monique

bounceswoosh
Skier
Joined
Nov 12, 2015
Posts
10,561
Location
Colorado
But I noticed that a significant number of people here are, or would, only carry a beacon to be rescued, not to be a rescuer.

In bounds, yes, that's me. Although I could certainly participate in a search with that beacon.
 

Sponsor

Top