What I learned after Avalanche Beacon Training. Buy a New Beacon

What I learned after Avalanche Beacon Training. It’s time to buy a new Beacon

I know what you are thinking “Man…. but a new avalanche beacon is expensive and my old one is perfectly fine”. Trust me I have been there thinking “yeah it’s a bit old but I could really use a new set of skins” as it seemed to work perfectly fine and a beacon is a beacon but as technology has changed beacons have changed as well. Basically the thing I learned about beacons after Avalanche Training was “It’s time to get a new one”

Let me tell you a little story that changed my mind

Three years back I decided it was time to get some avalanche training after being in the field for more than a decade. I was sure I was going to crush the class. I had a lot of experience moving through avalanche terrain as well as knowing what type of snow gives a specific type of avalanche. Occasionally I would do a beacon search, spotting and finding it in a good amount of time so I felt it would be a solid pass and for the most part it was other than the last test I would have to pass. Avalanche Beacon Training for multiple burials

Searching using my old Beacon

I was using a BCA tracker 2 for years and I felt it was sufficient enough so I was surprised that when I was searching it was showing signals all over the place leaving me confused and losing countless seconds on a time based test. Long story short I failed the avalanche beacon training test and was a bit destroyed but I was fortunate that my trainer would allow me to do the test again, using his BCA Tracker 3 instead. With his beacon in hand and slowing down my mindset I was able to get much clearer signals and after finding a beacon I was able to cancel out the signal using the masking feature, allowing for a clear signal for the next beacon and finally the third. I had completed the task in 1/3 the time of the original search and found the beacon much easier to work with. All in all I passed the test with the new beacon in hand.

Why was the Tracker 3 so superior to the Tracker 2

As I mentioned above technology is changing at such a rapid pace and back when the Tracker 2 was new to the market it was replacing Analog beacons with a digital layout and 2 antennas to help your search but by the time the Tracker 3 came out the tech had moved towards 3 antennas. While 2 antennas are fine with a single burial it becomes much harder and can give false and confusing readings simply because it is confused. While the 3 antenna system really shines in a finally combed search and can lock into a specific signal much better saving both time and energy.

Now lets get to the best thing, the Masking feature

Possibly the most important feature of 3 antennas is the opportunity to mask a specific beacons signal, allowing you to move on towards the next person without interference from the original signal. Say you found the first persons location then you hit the masking button it will hide that signal and allow you a clean slate to look for the next signal. This will save time as well as potential confusion when time is a priority. It makes an already stressful situation that much easier.

What do I use?

After the class I was so shaken that I knew it was time to get a new beacon and after a bit of chatting with my good friend Jamie Weeks he was kind enough to send me one of his. From that day forward I would only use a 3 antenna beacon anytime I am in avalanche terrain. Before that class I was sure that my beacon was perfectly fine but now I know that it was so far from perfect. It was a great learning experience and I was insanely fortunate to be in a field test and not realizing it when it was too late.

Basically if you have enough money to buy a new piece of gear it should definitely be a beacon cause your life is worth every penny you spend.