As more of us bring along heavy avalanche airbag systems or start to head out for longer splitboard missions then it's worth considering the weight of your kit.
I know after a quick evaluation of my primary off piste equipment I was able to save a considerable amount. In this guide I'll look to save you some weight and help you understand what to look for in your choices and some hints on how to use it more effectively.
When digging out avalanche victims after an avalanche, the following procedure should be followed:
1- Read of the victim‘s depth from the probe and walk down the slope by this figure and start shoveling in a V-shape.
2 - If there are several helpers, two people stand at the front and shovel the snow backwards. The third stands behind and clears the snow away. change positions after one minute.
3 - The positions should be taken as follows:cut out blocks, shovel, and clear snow away.
Tip: Shovels with a clearing function can save valuable time here. The average burial depth from which people are rescued alive is 50cm (statistics: Tschirky 2000). This requires the excavation of 1500 liters of snow! Saving time digging means increasing the chances of survival.
Source - Ortovox
After completing the fine search with an avalanche transceiver and marking the location, you need to pinpoint the victim with the avalanche probe.
1 - Mark the point with the smallest transceiver distance measurement (with crossed ski poles, shovel etc.).
2 - Starting from this point, probe the area systematically from the inside to the outside in the 25cm (~10 in) grid spacing shown.
3 - The probe remains in place and is used for orientation purposes.
Tip: Always probe at a 90° angle to the surface of the snow. Source - Ortovox.