Surviving in avalanche terrain requires more than owning an avalanche beacon and knowing how to use it. It can also involve avalanche awareness (avalanche education and forecasting), avoidance (safe travel techniques), surviving the physical trauma (terrain selection, wearing a helmet), preventing the burial (air bags), preventing asphyxiation (Avalung), locating the victim (searching and probing), accessing the victim (shoveling), and medical care and transportation (wilderness medicine).

I've worked hard to keep the information on BeaconReviews.com independent and objective. I do not receive any compensation from beacon manufacturers, although I have received training and beacons from most manufacturers.

I am a software entrepreneur, a part-time patroller at Brighton Ski Resort in Utah, the former commander of the Salt Lake County Sheriff's Search and Rescue Team, and an instructor for the Wilderness Medical Institute. As a rescuer, I have responded to more than a dozen avalanches that included nine fatalities. I created BeaconReviews.com, now in its sixth year, to share what I've learned.

Steve Achelis

PS: My recently released book, Mountain Responder, provides a first-person account of my experiences rescuing people in the mountains. Join me as I perform CPR on an 18-year-old avalanche victim, hang on a thin cable below a helicopter, and lower bloodied climbers down vertical walls. Learn more here.