PIEPS: Avalanche Search Devices for Safety in the Snow

Pieps offers high-quality avalanche transceivers. At Ispo, our Messe.TV presenter is shown how such a search device works. He even gets to try it out for himself!

Avalanche safety: avalanche beeper, avalanche probes, shovel and rucksacks

The Pieps company stands for avalanche safety. To ensure this, it manufactures avalanche beepers, avalanche probes, shovels and rucksacks, as well as small electronic devices. A safety system based around avalanche transceivers. When I go on a tour as a skier or mountain hiker, I wear the beeper on my body.

The search device operates on a frequency of 457 kHz. It can be used to precisely locate and dig out a buried person. The greatest chance of survival in the event of an avalanche is to rescue your companions. And this should take place within the first 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, the probability of survival drops rapidly. The receiver is used to locate the transmitter. The exact depth is measured using the probe, which remains stuck. The shovel must have a robust blade, as the avalanche snow can also contain hard, solid pieces of ice.

When you go to regions where there is deep snow and avalanche danger, it is important to keep safety in mind. Whether you are a mountaineer, ski tourer or skier, you are better equipped with a good safety system. Pieps offers a high-quality avalanche rescue backpack for this purpose.

Backpack Jetforce battery-powered rescue backpack with jet blower

The Jetforce backpack was developed together with Black Diamond. The battery-powered rescue backpack is powered by a jet blower. The air is blown from the surrounding air into the airbag within 2.5 seconds. The system is activated by pressing the red button for 4 seconds, the system performs a self-check, as soon as the green indicator lamp lights up, the backpack is ready for use.

When an avalanche is triggered, it's like having the rug pulled out from under your feet. You have to act as quickly as possible and pull hard on the release handle. The system is firmly attached to the body with several straps. There is also a leg strap so that the rucksack cannot get lost. The airbag ensures that you stay on the surface.

You are only a passenger in an avalanche. Large parts remain on the surface more than small parts. This volume is retained for at least 3 minutes. In the event of a burial with this Jetforce airbag, you have a cavity of 200 liters. The pressure is thus away from the chest, you can move your arms and have air. The system is available for 1000 euros. There are no additional costs and it can be used several times. 4 releases are possible with a full battery.

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