# Starting out in the backcountry



## killclimbz (Aug 10, 2007)

Harness and airbags are not essential backcountry gear.

Minimum to go out with aside for knowledge, is a transceiver, shovel, and probe. If you don't have those three items then you are not going out prepared for backcountry travel. 

A harness is not going to be used for 99% of burial situations. Strategic digging should eliminate the need for that. If you are traveling in terrain that may require a crevasse rescue, such as in the French Alps, then yes you better have one. It is still a situational piece of gear.

Airbags, not essential, but they are pretty damn effective. Just over 90% of the people caught in an avalanche that deployed an ABS bag, have survived. A lot of them with little to no injuries. Pretty dang good numbers. Problems with ABS bags, is weight, lack of space in the rest of your pack. From what I have seen these are most effective with day tourers and people doing guided backcountry drops, like out of a helicopter.


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