{"id":1367,"date":"2026-04-14T06:26:15","date_gmt":"2026-04-14T06:26:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/yellow-badger-933933.hostingersite.com\/?p=1367"},"modified":"2026-04-14T06:59:44","modified_gmt":"2026-04-14T06:59:44","slug":"safety-and-design-come-together-through-recco-reflective-technology-which-is-now-built-into-all-arcteryx-gore-tex-pro-jackets-text-will-gard","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/activeyout.com\/?p=1367","title":{"rendered":"Snow"},"content":{"rendered":"

Over a year ago, I sent a simple yet heartfelt letter to the designers at Arc\u2019teryx, expressing my wish: that our mountaineering gear and climbing hardshells would increasingly incorporate the RECCO search and rescue system.
\nMy only hope is that when fellow climbers go missing, they can be located, and that rescuers face one less risk.
\nOver the past thirty years, I have bid farewell to more than a dozen dear friends. Every search and rescue operation was accompanied by a long and agonizing wait. Alex Lowe, Scotty Marion, Karen McNeil, Sue Nott, David Lama, Marc Andre Leclerc\u2026 Too many lives have been lost in the mountains forever. Many of my companions were buried in avalanches and rockfalls while ice climbing, simply because they weren\u2019t carrying rescue transponders.
\nThere must be a more reliable safeguard; there must be a better solution.<\/p>\n

\"https:\/\/blog.arcteryx.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/202002_VerticalIce_Quebec_JohnPrice_DSC5304shrp_rd.jpg\"<\/p>\n

When my good friend Grant Statham and his team from Parks Canada\u2019s Visitor Safety Unit headed to the base of the massive north-east face of Mount House to search for David Lama, Jess Roskelli, and Hans-J\u00f6rg Ahl, they were virtually at a loss. Multiple avalanches had eroded the face, leaving almost no clues in the complex terrain to help locate the climbers. Avalanche beacons might have helped, but the face was simply too vast.<\/p>\n

As time passed, the families waited anxiously for news. Eventually, they spotted some surface clues at the base of the mountain, but the snow above was extremely unstable. They had to rope up and circle in a helicopter for hours to search, all while watching for avalanches. They were seasoned professionals, and ultimately, they found the bodies of the three young men who had died so tragically.<\/p>\n

\"https:\/\/blog.arcteryx.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/202002_VerticalIce_Quebec_JohnPrice_DSC3983shrp_rd.jpg\"<\/p>\n

Then there is the matter of survival. Many of us feel that even without an avalanche, we would likely meet our end anyway, because so many winter climbing routes are situated in natural avalanche traps where snow accumulates into mounds several stories high; even if the initial avalanche doesn\u2019t push us off the rock face, survival is unlikely. But over the years, two things have happened: first, climbers have begun to die in avalanches where survival was once clearly possible; second, effective avalanche safety gear now weighs just over 500 grams.<\/p>\n

This past spring, I witnessed an ice climbing avalanche accident firsthand. Fortunately, the gear worked, barely saving the victim\u2019s life and allowing her family to say goodbye to her in the hospital. I cannot imagine standing helplessly before a pile of avalanche debris. To honor this beautiful soul who has passed away, and to remember the other friends we have lost, I and professional athletes from various brands are actively promoting the use of new, lightweight avalanche gear\u2014and the results have been remarkable.<\/p>\n

\"202002<\/p>\n

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But this still doesn\u2019t help in finding my missing friend, nor does it make it any easier to locate those who are obsessed with lightweight gear. Beacons aren\u2019t always reliable either. Two years ago in Alaska, a search and rescue team picked up a Recco signal in a snow-covered crevasse, which ultimately led them to the locations of climbers Mark Andr\u00e9 and Ryan. The rescue operation itself was fraught with danger, but for those anxiously awaiting news, knowing the whereabouts of a lost loved one holds a significance that outsiders can scarcely comprehend. It is the key to finding solace and peace of mind.<\/p>\n

Recco is essentially a miniature directional radar reflector weighing less than four grams that can be sewn into clothing or embedded in boot soles; for years, it has served as the last line of defense in ski gear.<\/p>\n

Due to their relatively heavy weight and slow response times, Recco detectors are not commonly used in routine wilderness search and rescue operations, yet they have indeed saved lives and significantly reduced search times. The reflectors themselves have no shortcomings in terms of weight or size; the only drawback is their high price. Unfortunately, they have yet to become widespread in the mountaineering community. Mark and Ryan happened to have the transponders in their ski jackets, and the rescue team was equipped with Recco detectors\u2014and that was the key.<\/p>\n

Today, a brand-new system developed by Recco has proven invaluable. I had the privilege of witnessing it firsthand in Canmore, and it was truly awe-inspiring. This high-performance detection system, suspended beneath a helicopter, can safely scan Recco reflectors while flying at high speeds, covering a one-square-kilometer area in just a few minutes. It allows for a comprehensive search of the entire mountain and the terrain below, while minimizing the risk to rescue personnel.<\/p>\n

The designers at Arc\u2019teryx are outdoor enthusiasts themselves, and they too have lost dear friends. I am deeply grateful to them\u2014not only for designing the outdoor gear I use for over 200 days a year, but also for using that dedication to ensure that I, and so many others, return home safely.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Over a year ago, I sent a simple yet heartfelt letter to the designers at Arc\u2019teryx, expressing my wish: that our mountaineering gear and climbing hardshells would increasingly incorporate the RECCO search and rescue system. My only hope is that when fellow climbers go missing, they can be located, and that rescuers face one 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a year ago, I sent a simple yet heartfelt letter to the designers at Arc\u2019teryx, expressing my wish: that our mountaineering gear and climbing hardshells would increasingly incorporate the RECCO search and rescue system. My only hope is that when fellow climbers go missing, they can be located, and that rescuers face one less","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/activeyout.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1367","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/activeyout.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/activeyout.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/activeyout.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/activeyout.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1367"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/activeyout.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1367\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1370,"href":"https:\/\/activeyout.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1367\/revisions\/1370"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/activeyout.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1344"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/activeyout.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1367"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/activeyout.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1367"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/activeyout.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1367"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}