Black Diamond for everything climbing and skiing.    Dynafit -- Speed Up!    Tracker beacons, Stash packs, shovels, more more more.    Terrific deals on randonnee AT rando backcountry skiing gear.    K2 has the skis that stay true to earning your turns.    Garmont boots -- excellent choice for backcountry skiing.

It’s Alive — RECCO Rises from the Grave

Bookmark and Share            By Lou

Remember RECCO, the tiny radar transponders you’d find attached to ski boots and jackets a few years ago? I thought that stuff had died — apparently not. MountainZone.com reports the North Shore rescue team in Vancouver, BC is high on the system. “More people are skiing with this type of device now,” says a member of the rescue group.

Let’s get real here. To locate a person wearing a RECCO, you need an expensive and bulky radar unit that’s best operated from a helicopter. In other words, if you’re in a bad way, e.g., buried in an avalanche, you’ll probably be dead before anyone finds you using RECCO. Nonetheless, go to the RECCO website and you see the emphasis their marketing places on avalanche safety. I can see this device as being useful for finding people who are lost in the wild, especially children, but to even use it in the same sentence as the word “avalanche” is disingenuous.

It’s useful to be sure, but other than in isolated cases RECCO is not a live avalanche rescue device.

Posted by Lou on October 4, 2005 | Filed Under Misc Gear Reviews, avalanches 

previous post: Environmental Screed of the Month – Wheelchairs in Wilderness
next post: Backcountry Skiing Blog Comments

Comments

Comments are closed.

Welcome to Louis (Lou) Dawson's backcountry skiing information and opinion website. Lou's passion for the past forty years has been alpinism, climbing, mountaineering and skiing -- along with all manner of outdoor recreation. He has authored numerous books and articles about backcountry skiing and is well known as the first person to ski down all 54 of Colorado's 14,000-foot peaks, otherwise known as the Fourteeners! Books and free back country information here, and tons of Randonnee rando telemark info.

All material on this website is copyrighted. Permission required for reproduction, electronic or otherwise. That includes publication and display on other websites by whatever means. PLEASE SEE OUR COPYRIGHT INFORMATION.

Backcountry skiing is a dangerous sport. You may be killed or severely injured if you do any form of randone, randonnee and randonnée skiing. The information on this website is intended only as general information. While the authors and editors of the information on this website make every effort to present useful information, due to human error the information, text and images contained within this website may be inaccurate, false, or out-of-date. By using, reading or viewing the information provided on this website, you agree to absolve the owners of Wild Snow as well as content contributors of any liability for injuries or losses incurred while using such information. Furthermore, you agree to use any of this website's information, maps, photos, or binding mounting instructions or templates at your own risk, and waive Wild Snow its owners and contributors of any liability for use of said items for backcountry skiing or any other use.