JAWAHAR INSTITUTE OF MOUNTAINEERING & WINTER SPORTS, NUNWAN, PAHALGAM

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Avalanche Rescue Team And Equipment

Introduction

1. Jawahar Institute of mountaineering and winter sports conducts Avalanche Rescue Training (ART) for Shri Amarnath shrine board, Shri Mata Veshnodevi shrine board as well as the private agencies of J&K goverment. Similar training is included in the course curriculum for both Mountain and Winter sport series of courses. Every year JIM&WS carries out rescue operations whenever there are incidents of people getting stuck in avalanches. Institute always keeps two avalanche rescue teams ready to be launched in shortest possible time. JIM&WS has worked out the organization of rescue team and equipment to be carried.

2. Organization of Avalanche rescue team. Recommended organization of avalanche rescue team is as under:-

(a)       Team leader                                                 01 Officer
(b)       Deputy leader                                               01 Assistant Officer
(c)        Members                                                      06 Qualified persons
(d)       Avalanche rescue dog                                01(if available)
(e)       Doctor/Nursing assistant                           01

3. Individual equipment carried by avalanche rescue team. Avalanche rescue team should carry following individual equipment:-

(a) Rucksack.

(b) Carry Mat.

(d) Jacket Gortex.

(e) Socks Special / heavy.

(f) Trouser Gortex

(g) Water poncho

(h) Cap balaclava

(i) Hand Gloves.

(j) Head lamp.

(k) Gaiters.

(l) Snow Goggles.

(m) Face mask.

(n) Ice Axe.

(o) Crampons.

(p) Snow Shovel.

(r) Avalanche Victim Detector (AVD). Avalanche Victim Detector (AVD) is also known as Avalanche Transceiver. These are small, compact radios used to identify avalanche victim burial sites. They transmit electromagnetic signals that are picked up by another transceiver on the receive mode.

(q) Avalung. A tube-like affair that helps you breath fresh oxygen from the air filled snow packed around your body, and at the same time dissipates the poisonous carbon dioxide that normally lingers around your face.

(s) Avalanche Cord Avalanche cord is 45 meter long red cord is attached to the person in question's belt. While skiing, snowboarding, or walking the cord is dragged along behind the person. If the person gets buried in an avalanche, the light cord stays on top of the snow. Due to the color the cord is easily visible for rescue personnel. The cord has iron markings every three meter that indicate the direction and length to the victim.

(t) Avalanche rod. Avalanche rod is used by avalanche rescue team to probe the debris of avalanche to search for victim buried under it. Avalanche rod has 06 sections of 02 ft each which are joined together as per requirement for probing.

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