Comment by eddythompson80

Surprising as it may seem, avalanches are easier to avoid [1] and easier to handle it comes to communication[2]. To an extent of course[3].

[1] I used to be terrified of the concept of an Avalanche. However, at the end of the day you're only exposed to an Avalanche if you choose to be or live next to a large mountain in the winter. It's not even like Hawaiians living next to an active volcano. All you have to do (in terms of living) is to move away during Avalanche season. Hawaiians atleast have the excuse of "it hasn't erupted in 10 years"-maybe. THe other example is if you're a skiing/winter-sport enthusiast (like me). And you simply balance your chance of an avalanche vs the reports and "how much fun it sounds to ski with your friends"

[2] If you find yourself in an avalanche situation, you need/must do your best to "swim" to the top of the avalanche. There is gear that can help you do so outside of beacons or "signal based" notifications. Once you've established all those unfeasible, you're left with the same tools a "sudden earthquake victim" is up against. You still have the upper hand because a simple handheld transceiver (from like Icom, Kenwood or Yaesu) will have 100x the range through snow vs one through liquid water or concrete.

[3] Physically speaking: ice is eventually going to behave like water under enough depth. I think.

[4] Avalanche Gear example: https://alpenglowsports.com/collections/avalanche-safety