It’s called the “golden hour”, but it’s not the time to shoot photos. This “golden hour” has nothing to do with gorgeous light at sunrise or sunset. This “golden hour” is the sixty minutes that may separate life and death.
In the medical world, the “golden hour” is the period of time after a traumatic injury when prompt medical and surgical treatment is most beneficial in preventing death. Severe injuries such as those that cause internal bleeding can cause victims to rapidly deteriorate as their body goes into shock. If you can get a major accident victim to medical attention within an hour of injury their chances of survival are much greater.
Backcountry Safety
Get help fast - Satellite messaging for backcountry travellers
December 22, 2020
Photo - Andrew Miller
The Jones team starts to evaluate a trauma victim in a mock rescue drill. / Photo - Andrew Miller
It’s not a pleasant thought, but all backcountry travellers need to understand the importance of the golden hour when it comes to avalanche rescue situations. Why? Because quickly digging out an avalanche victim might not be enough to save the victims life if they have major trauma. In a 2018 study of the 110 avalanche fatalities in Colorado in the past 21 years, 32 of the 110 victims died from trauma. That’s nearly one in three odds that if you’re caught in a serious avalanche you may die from injuries even if your partners quickly dig you out.
This reality demands that backcountry travellers not only have solid beacon search skills, but also basic wilderness first aid skills, and most importantly, a means of immediately calling for medical help. If you’re in a backcountry zone that has cell reception, you can call 911 on your phone and initiate a rescue. But what if you are touring in a zone that has no cell reception, or your phone battery is dead? That’s when it’s critical that you carry a satellite messaging device.
Jeremy Jones syncs his phone with a Somewear Global Hotspot to send a message to
his family via satellite from a remote backcountry camp. Photo - Ming Poon
Satellite messaging devices, such as satellite phones, one-way satellite messengers and two-way satellite messengers are a CRITICAL piece of equipment to have in your backpack should an accident occur in a remote area. You could be hours from a trailhead, but if you have the ability to communicate you may be able to organize a helicopter rescue to pick up the victim within 30 minutes depending on the location. If you don’t have a means of communicating, you will be forced to either begin transporting the victim towards medical help, or if just a party of two, leave the victim and go out to the trailhead to summon help.
Ten years ago, satellite communication devices were super expensive and cost prohibitive for amateur explorers. Not so much now. You can get a basic satellite messaging device for $200-400. The most common satellite devices used by backcountry travellers are two-way messengers. These allow you to send and receive messages. Popular two-way satellite messengers include the Garmin InReach Mini, the SPOT X, and the Somewear Global Hotspot.
There are also still several one-way satellite messengers on the market. These devices are less expensive, and will function as an emergency communication tool, but they do not let you receive messages. With a one-way messenger, like a personal locator beacon, you can’t confirm that a rescue has been initiated and help is on the way.
Reflecting on the day
This could be by yourself, as a group, or with somebody more experienced. Was there good reasoning as to why you made the decisions you did? Did your terrain selection align with the forecasted hazard, avalanche problem and your own observations? Deeming a slope as a definite no-go, than opting to shred it later in the day under blues skies and blower isn’t a great rule of thumb. Did you change your plan and steer the results and observations in your favor?
Avalanche problems and Red Flags
When in doubt, fall back on the basics. If you were pushing steeper terrain and red flags were present or untrustworthy persistent weak layers existed that’s something to consider as a “We may have just gotten away with it” scenario. There’s no point in over analyzing situations when these conditions are present. Lowering your expectations for the day and accepting a conservative decision making mantra will benefit you (think low angle).
What would the headlines read?
Introduced by researcher Ian McCammon, this puts into perspective the “hindsight is 20/20”. Originally used as a “before you drop” tool, this can also be adapted to an end of day debrief. Think about if something went wrong, would your day be translated from, “We nailed that line in perfect pow!” to “Rider gets buried after dropping into a 40 degree slope, in high avalanche danger?" If your successful day would read like a reckless mistake (had something gone wrong) than perhaps it wasn’t so successful.
Be open about mistakes
If you do have a near miss, be open to talking about it, admitting fault and reflecting on why it happened. Close calls can prove to be some of the most powerful learning experiences, so do not brush them off. Too many close calls could mean a bad pattern has developed. Definitely report any close calls involving triggering an avalanche to your avalanche center as that is super helpful for them, and they may offer you some advice.
Be careful with familiarity
“Treat terrain as if it’s the first time you’ve been there,” says Don Sharaf, a co-owner of the American Avalanche Institute and heli ski guide in Alaska. By this he means, avoid the “I’ve ridden this on a considerable hazard day before.” or the “I’ve never seen that slope slide.” situations. Look at it rationally each time. How steep is it, what’s the consequence and does it make sense given the conditions? If all that checks out, then great. If not, then the line will be there to ride another day.