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How to dig an avalanche victim

Updated: 21.10.2026

You are kneeling in Scottish debris, a companion is buried, and the shovel in your pack is the tool you have practised with least. The search how to dig avalanche victim is a short sequence: call for help, leave the probe where it struck, and move snow from downhill of that probe rather than from straight above the person. Packable metal shovels are compared on the [avalanche shovel](/hub/garden-tools/avalanche-shovel) page. This page is the method only. These steps start once the probe is already in the snow. We did not laboratory-test the blades. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

You are kneeling in Scottish debris, a companion is buried, and the shovel in your pack is the tool you have practised with least.

Our top picks

G2 GO2GETHER G2 GO2GETHER G2-SS01 (Grey)

Best overall

G2 GO2GETHER G2 GO2GETHER G2-SS01 (Grey)
6.3/10about £41.96
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MFH MFH Fox Outdoor avalanche shovel

Rank 2

MFH MFH Fox Outdoor avalanche shovel
8.1/10about £37.65
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TerraWest TerraWest Core Plus (shovel and probe)

Best value

TerraWest TerraWest Core Plus (shovel and probe)
6.5/10about £44.95
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On this page
  1. 1.Call, then dig downhill of the probe
  2. 2.A wide starter hole, not a tunnel
  3. 3.Hoe mode is a limited extra
  4. 4.If the blade bends, the method has stopped

Call, then dig downhill of the probe

The working window in companion rescue is about 15 minutes. That is a reason to start at once, not a promise that a tidy hole will reach someone inside it. Mountaineering Scotland's ThinkWINTER pack puts the call in a fixed order: 999, then the police, then mountain rescue. Companions keep digging while that call is made. If you are only two and the phone has no service, take a short pause for the call rather than leaving an empty hole. One person walks to a ridge or the car park only when another shoveller can stay. The probe stays in the snow. The 2006 International Snow Science Workshop paper on strategic shovelling treats it as the mark you dig towards. Stand downhill of it and uncover the person from the side towards the airway. Avalanche.org puts the first stance about one step downhill when the burial is under a metre. The 2006 paper starts the hole about 1.5 times the burial depth downslope, so a 1 m strike begins near 1.5 m away. Where the probe came from, and how long it should be, is on the avalanche shovel and probe page.

A wide starter hole, not a tunnel

Burial depth sets the hole. The 2006 paper describes a starter about one wingspan across, or about 2 m when two people are shovelling, so the lead person can kneel and cut. Avalanche.org describes a platform about 1 to 2 m wide. A full 2 m terrace is too much if the debris is only boot-deep. In slab blocks you kneel, cut, and set each block downhill so you do not lift it again. As you near the strike, clear sideways before you dig onto clothing, and keep boots and the blade off the body once a jacket shows. A tunnel has nowhere to rotate.
G2 GO2GETHER G2 GO2GETHER G2-SS01 (Grey)

Testsieger

G2 GO2GETHER G2 GO2GETHER G2-SS01 (Grey)
6.3/10about £41.96
View offer

Hoe mode is a limited extra

Hoe mode turns the blade across the shaft so you pull snow towards you. Backcountry Access describes that grip for about the top half-metre, with a second shoveller clearing snow the lead digger has already broken. Alone in hard blocks it is a weak choice: the hoe has less leverage for the first cut. A 2018 workshop paper found hoe-mode shovelers about 15 per cent slower in a small-group test. Deeper than about half a metre, and with only one digger, stay with a chopping grip and a wide terrace. It still fails when the blade folds on the first hard cut.

If the blade bends, the method has stopped

The terrace needs a flat blade and a locked handle joint. A UK review of a TerraWest shovel described the blade bending on a practice rescue, and G2 reviews described the handle joint breaking. Those notes are not a ranking. A curved blade will not cut a block, and an open joint will not take your weight. If the blade bends on the first cut, switch to any intact shovel in the party. If the bent one is all you have, keep the airway clear by hand, leave the probe in, and stay with the mountain-rescue call. Who each listing is for, including that bent-blade note, sits on the best avalanche shovel page. A companion-rescue day, and time in the park at Glenmore Lodge before you travel, is the practice.

Common questions

Do you pull the probe out once you know the depth?
Leave it in. It marks the spot while spindrift and a second shoveller wipe out your footprints, which is why the 2006 method says not to pull it just to clear the blade. Dig towards it from downhill and clear around it. Take it out only when you can see the person and the shaft blocks the airway, and keep a hand on the spot.
How wide should the starter hole be?
Aim for about a wingspan alone, and about 2 m with two of you on the terrace, the starter size in the 2006 paper. A hole the width of the blade becomes a tunnel. If the burial is well under a metre, that full width can be more snow than the depth needs.
Do you scoop powder or cut blocks?
Scoop when the blade slides through loose debris. In hard snow you kneel, cut blocks, and place each one downhill so you move that snow once. Edgerly's 2010 paper says to clear the sides first, because snow thrown onto the person has to be lifted again. A powder scoop in slab debris is also how a light blade bends and refills the hole.
When do you call 999 if companions are already digging?
Call as soon as you know it is a burial, not after the hole is finished. The ThinkWINTER order is 999, then the police, then mountain rescue, and the others keep digging during the call. Waiting because you are already shovelling leaves help starting late if the burial is deep. With no signal, one person moves up only when another can stay on the probe.
What if the blade bends on the first cut?
The method has stopped on that shovel. Switch to an intact shovel if you have one. If not, clear the airway by hand, leave the probe in, and stay with the call. A stronger shovel is a buying decision, not a fix for an unpractised dig.

Related pages

Avalanche shovel buying guide

Avalanche shovel or snow shovel

Avalanche shovel

Best avalanche shovel in this set, and who skips it

Avalanche shovel and probe still need a transceiver

Sources

Public sources used for this comparison. Listing prices, stars, and review counts are the amazon.co.uk figures in this set. Avalanche Canada is cited for the tool, not as UK law.

  1. SAIS Be Avalanche Aware (retrieved 21.10.2026)
  2. Mountaineering Scotland ThinkWINTER 2025–26 (retrieved 21.10.2026)
  3. Eagle Ski Club companion rescue (retrieved 21.10.2026)
  4. Ski Club of Great Britain touring kit (retrieved 21.10.2026)
  5. ISSW 2018 UIAA 156 paper (retrieved 21.10.2026)
  6. UIAA standard 156, avalanche rescue shovels (retrieved 21.10.2026)
  7. Avalanche Canada gear (retrieved 21.10.2026)