Safety Equipment Usage & Risk Management Flashcards
7 cards from real ASC practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Safety Equipment Usage & Risk Management flashcards as text
Which shovel blade material offers the best combination of strength and light weight for avalanche rescue?
Answer: Aluminum alloy
Aluminum alloy shovels provide the optimal balance of light weight, durability, and strength needed for the rigorous digging required in avalanche rescue.
The V-conveyor shoveling method is used in rescue because it:
Answer: Uses a chain of rescuers to move snow efficiently, significantly reducing excavation time
The V-conveyor (or assembly line) method positions multiple rescuers in a chain so snow is passed back rapidly, cutting excavation time compared to single-rescuer digging.
In multi-burial scenarios, what is the recommended triage approach when using transceivers?
Answer: Use the transceiver to mark and systematically work through all signals, prioritizing the shallowest burial
In multi-burial, rescuers should mark each signal and prioritize the shallowest burial because it is fastest to excavate, maximizing overall survival rates.
What is the purpose of the 'strategic retreat' concept in avalanche risk management?
Answer: Identifying and moving to a safe zone before, during, or after an avalanche releases
Strategic retreat means proactively identifying safe zones and moving to them when avalanche risk is identified, preventing exposure before a slide occurs.
What happens to avalanche survival probability after approximately 15 minutes of burial?
Answer: It drops sharply due to asphyxiation as the air pocket CO2 increases
Survival probability drops sharply after about 15 minutes because the air pocket fills with exhaled CO2, leading to asphyxiation—the primary cause of avalanche fatality.
Which condition makes an avalanche airbag LEAST effective at keeping a rider near the surface?
Answer: Wet, heavy spring snow avalanches
Wet, dense avalanches behave more like fluid concrete and reduce the effectiveness of the inverse segregation effect that airbags rely on, making deployment less reliable.
What is the correct procedure if your probe strikes a hard object (rock or ice) while searching for a buried victim?
Answer: Record the strike, flag the spot, and continue probing nearby to distinguish a victim from terrain features
A hard object may be rock or ice, so rescuers should flag the location and probe adjacent spots to confirm a victim by feel (soft, yielding resistance) before digging.