Avalanche Beacons and the Olympics
Sport climbing will debut at the Tokyo Olympics in August in front of millions of viewers and spectators. If all goes well, climbing will also be at the Paris 2024 Olympics. Canadian Sean Mccoll secured his place in the competition after performing well at the World Championships this past summer. To prepare for the Olympics, four-time world champion Mccoll, 32, said he’ll be climbing in hot conditions to be ready for the extreme temperatures that athletes might experience in Japan.
He took some time off at the end of 2019, but will be ramping up training in January, which will give him seven months to prepare for the Olympics. Mccoll’s rise to fame got a big boost after his four-year partnership with American Ninja Warrior, where he competed for Team France. He said that after the Olympics, he hopes to create a Canadian team for Ninja Warrior.
While many climbers are enjoying spending the short days training indoors, many others are heading outside for ice and mixed climbing. There’s nothing better than waking up three hours before the sun rises, filling the thermos with coffee and taking the long drive to the day’s objective. Along the way, you might slide on icy roads, get caught behind a snow plow or be scooped on the climb you were hoping to try, but getting outdoors midwinter can be rewarding and exciting.
One of the most important changes in the gear that ice climbers carry is the avalanche beacon. Grant Statham, one of Canada’s leading avalanche specialists, said the people who benefit are “first and most obviously, the person who is buried. Getting dug out alive seems like a pretty strong benefit. Also, their partner, who won’t have to wander about aimlessly on the surface of the avalanche debris and then try to dig a deep hole with their helmet and hands. Then there are the first responders, whose risk gets jacked through the roof when they have to search for climbers not wearing transceivers.”
Statham pointed to one case study of a 2015 response to an ice climber caught in an avalanche on the ice route Polar Circus: “Hypothetically, the rescuers’ risk exposure was 400 times what it could have been, simply because the climbers weren’t wearing transceivers.” Statham went on to point out that even if you die in an avalanche, you could be saving the lives of the search and rescue team. “If you’re killed, then at least the rescuers can locate your body and bring you home to your family and loved ones,” said Statham. “Do not underestimate how important that is to grieving families.”
Statham echoes what many professionals have been saying for decades: ice climbers need to get really good at both climbing and risk control. They need to learn about risk and how they can reduce it. “Be psyched when you climb something awesome in good style, which includes being light, fast, minimalist and smart,” Statham said.