LVS Park in Schmirn

Safety on the mountain

Ski touring is becoming more and more popular and therefore information about the dangers on the mountain is becoming increasingly important. At Gasthof Olpererblick in Schmirn, there is a permanently installed avalanche transceiver park where you can practise avalanche transceiver searches free of charge and on your own. We tested the avalanche transceiver park together with mountain guide Thomas Senfter.

LVS is the abbreviation for avalanche transceiver. An avalanche transceiver park is basically a practice area - in this case a meadow behind the Gasthof Olpererblick with an area of approx. 30 m x 50 m - where avalanche transceivers and a probe can be used to practise avalanche transceiver searches free of charge. Eight "avalanche victims" (rubber mats with transmitters and sensors) are distributed across the field and one or two people can be searched for on the field at random. There is also a board installed at the base station that explains how to activate the search. With just three clicks, you can get started and have up to 10 minutes to locate the "buried person(s)" and find them with the probe. Because that's all the time you have in an emergency on the mountain...

Every minute counts after an avalanche! According to statistics, buried victims have the greatest chance of survival in the first quarter of an hour. It is therefore all the more important to be well prepared for emergencies. "It's not enough to just have your safety equipment with you if you don't know how to use it. The avalanche transceiver park is the perfect place to spend some time practising avalanche transceivers before or after a ski tour. And it's accessible to everyone free of charge!" says Thomas. In an emergency, it can save lives if you can not only make an emergency call, but also work through the four phases of the search (signal search, coarse search, fine search, point search) in a standardized way and know exactly what to do.

The idea for the avalanche transceiver park in Schmirn was born as part of the "tyrol.alpin - ski tour safety in the Wipptal" project. The person in charge of this project was the Wipptal mountain guide Peter Veider as part of a prevention initiative by the Tyrolean Mountain Rescue Service together with the Wipptal Tourism Association and the province of Tyrol. In addition to the avalanche transceiver park, 15 avalanche transceiver checkpoints were also installed at the starting points of ski tours in the region. Here, the transmission function of the avalanche transceiver can be checked at the starting point of the tour.

To make the exercise as realistic as possible, all participants should take part with their own safety equipment in their rucksack. In addition to the avalanche transceiver, this includes a probe, an avalanche shovel, a first aid kit and a bivouac sack.

We are lucky enough to be trained by an experienced mountain guide who explains exactly how to proceed when searching on an avalanche slope. "If several people are involved in the search, it is essential that one person takes command and assigns the helpers to different tasks. This avoids chaos and makes the search more effective," explains Thomas.

After an introduction, we go to the base station and switch on the avalanche transceiver park. We start by selecting a single "buried victim" and choose a maximum search time of 10 minutes on the control panel. Then Thomas presses Start and the first participant quickly starts searching with the avalanche transceiver. Modern avalanche transceivers show exactly which direction to go and how far away the buried victim is.

In the avalanche transceiver park, at the end of the search you have to hit the sensor buried in the snow three times with the probe, then a beep sounds at the base station. This confirms the find and the search is over. Now it's the next participant's turn. Of course, several people can search at the same time or two "buried persons" can be activated at the same time.

"All ski tourers, whether locals or guests, should be trained in avalanche safety. The local mountain guides are the ideal contacts for this. Avalanche searches in particular need to be repeated and practiced at least at the start of every winter season. The avalanche transceiver park is the ideal facility for this," says Thomas. We all hope never to get into an emergency situation on the mountain. But if it does happen, good preparation can save lives.

TIP: Take a look at the avalanche transceiver park at Gasthof Olpererblick in Schmirn and practise using the avalanche transceiver to search for avalanches. You can hire safety equipment at the Gasthof Olpererblick, but it's best to practise with your own safety equipment! If you would prefer to take an avalanche safety course with a local mountain guide, you can find all the contacts here.