Brooks Range Teams Up With AIARE To Update Ski Guide Cards

With safety always being the number one priority in the backcountry, Brooks Range Mountaineering Equipment has partnered with a variety of avalanche organizations, including American Institute for Avalanche Research and Education (AIARE), American Avalanche Assn (AAA), American Mountain Guides Assn (AMGA) among others, to update its flagship product, Ski Guide Cards (commonly known as SGCs). This updated version of the set will include 18 pocket-sized, color-coded, laminated cards containing valuable, current information about avalanche safety and rescue tips geared toward mountain guides, forecasters and backcountry enthusiasts.

“This new edition of Skis Guide Cards contain key information that every certified mountain guide and serious backcountry enthusiast should already know,” said Jeff Blakely, General Manager of Brooks Range Mountaineering Equipment. “These cards are in no way meant to replace course work, but they serve as a perfect “cheat sheet” to keep in your pack in case of an emergency. They include information on how to perform a rescue, whether it is from falling in a crevasse, or being caught in an avalanche. And, more importantly, what information you should be keeping track of to avoid such calamity.”

According to Tom Murphy, operations director of AIARE, “This is the only product of its kinds and Brooks-Range did an excellent job compiling the latest information and consulting with experts to develop a tool that professionals and recreationalists can benefit from using.”

As with any subject, it is easy to forget important details with lack of use. Like a muscle that atrophies from lack of use, unfamiliarity with the many protocols or observations professional guides abide by can magnify trouble when it occurs. Brooks-Range’s SGCs are like a “cheat sheet” covering a wide range of avalanche safety and mountaineering travel guidelines.

This updated set cards provides key information on a number of safety topics, ranging from recognizing and documenting High Altitude Sickness, to determining avalanche hazard through field observations, and how to not only conduct a search for a buried victim, but how to dig him out properly. Plus, there is a wealth of auxiliary information with regard to accessing international avalanche hotlines and websites to conversion charts for elevation, temperature, even the wind chill factor. For outdoor aficionados it is a perfect checklist of things that need to be considered, and where knowledge is lacking, it serves as a useful list of things that should be learned.

About Brooks Range
Brooks Range is a manufacturer of mountaineering and outdoor equipment located in Fremont, Calif., providing innovative, top-quality backcountry and outdoor gear for professional guides and recreational travelers alike. Brooks Range products — designed to deliver the ultimate in utility, comfort and safety in the backcountry and outdoors – are tested by some of the world’s top mountaineering, avalanche and backcountry professionals. These experts form the core of the Brooks Range Advisory Board. Most products are made in the USA and are sold at outdoor retail shops nationwide, and on the web at: www.brooks-range.com.

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