Safety Equipment
The most important bit of safety kit you have is your brain. Use it in the planning stage to minimise the chance of something go wrong. Use it to assess your progress and conditions and don’t be scared to turn back if things are going to plan. If your brain tells you you’re tired and thirsty, have a break and drink some fluids. If you aren’t comfortable skiing the slope you headed out to ski choose another one. If things don’t go to plan don’t panic – if you’ve planned your trip well one or two things aren’t going to kill you. Take a chill pill and think things through rationally and improvise. If you’ve lost a bit of gear there’s generally something else in your pack that you can use to replace it.
Psychology aside there are some things you should never leave home without and others that can come in pretty handy.
Map and Compass
You should never head out without a map of the area you're in and a compass. You should also know how to use these to navigate in poor visibility. Update your maps as often as possible and use other sources to verify whether places of interest still exist (eg. many huts no longer exist after the 2003 bushfires). It is handy to laminate commonly used maps to prevent them getting damaged in poor weather.
First Aid Kit
There should be at least one first aid kit with every group that heads into the backcountry and at least two people should no how to administer first aid. Ideally you should complete a remote area first aid course.
GPS
GPS receivers are a great bit but they are only as good as the user. If you don’t know what you’re doing with it you can get yourself in all types of strife. Things to note:
A GPS is useless without waypoints. Enter as many points of interest into your GPS before you head out and if possible enter a route. Enter points during your trip. Points such as the crossings over the Snowy River are valuable if travelling about the NSW Main Range.
There are several map grids used across the world. If you’re using your GPS with a map make sure your GPS is set to the maps grid. Grids typically vary by a few hundred metres, which can be a long way in poor visibility. Practice using the navigation function of your GPS in good weather. If your GPS does not have a digital compass built in it will be slow to adjust your course and may not be an effective navigation tool.
The quality of GPS coverage will depend on your view of the sky. Your GPS may not pick up a signal if you’re at the bottom of a steep valley, under thick foliage and stuck in bad weather.
Mobile Phone
You can get mobile coverage on most of the high peaks that are within 10km of the ski resorts and probably on some further away. Whilst you shouldn’t rely on there’s no reason not to use it. When I have coverage I like to contact someone and get a weather forecast update just to make sure there are no little surprises on the way. If you have web access on your phone you could even access this information yourself. I also provide information on where I am and communicate any changes to the trip plan. In the event of an emergency you’re much better off contacting help by phone that attracting attention by other means such as setting off an EPIRB. Be sure to keep your phone off when you’re not using to conserve the battery life – especially if you’re spending most of your time out of range.
EPIRB
EPIRB's are getting cheaper and becoming smaller and lighter. EPIRB's should only really be used in a life or death situation and only if there is no other means of getting help. EPIRB's emit a distress signal that can be picked up by passing aircraft. The pilot that receives the signal relays it to the national emergency centre in Canberra and a response is coordinated from there. The accuracy of the signal from an EPIRB is limited to the hundreds of metres or even more. For these reasons a mobile phone is a much better device for communicating an emergency situation so if there is phone coverage use the phone. Using a phone you’ll be able to provide your location, help coordinate assistance and know what is planned to assist you or your party.
Avalanche Knowledge / Gear
As mentioned on an earlier page avalanches are not common in Australia but they have and will occur. In his book "Skiing the Western Faces" Alan Andrews recounts an incident where he and his two sons were nearly taken by one on the NSW Main Range. A knowledge of the conditions that lead to avalanches is more valuable than victim location and recovery gear. It’s much better to assess slopes before you ski them and avoid potentially dangerous ones than to ski them willy nilly with recovery gear at the ready. That said we cannot always predict how a slope will behave so it’s not a bad idea to carry a beacon, probe and shovel. As with other gear you need to know how to use before you need to use it. You should also test that the avalanche beacon and transceiver is working before you use it.
Light
It pays to carry a light with you every time you head out into the backcountry, even on day trips. You never know if you’re going to run into a bit of trouble or take a little bit longer than planned to get back to your starting point. They are also handy to use in case of a search. Most new models of LED head torch have a strobing feature for this reason.