Publication of UIAA Standard 156 Avalanche Rescue Shovels
The UIAA Safety Commission has published its 23rd safety standard. Standard 156 is dedicated to avalanche rescue shovels, “the result of a decade of work, from problem seen, to field testing, to lab testing, to standard development," explains UIAA Safety Commission President Dave Custer. The original challenge was to implement an avalanche rescue shovel standard such that a shovel would reliably withstand the loads generated in rescue activities. Anecdotal observation suggested that some shovel modes failed often during...