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IMPORTANT

The Owner's Manual for this vehicle contains warnings, instructions and other information you must read and fully understand before safely riding or performing maintenance on this vehicle. Always follow the warnings and instructions in Owner's Manual.

Click the link above for the Table Of Contents, or download a full PDF of the Owner Manual in the Owner Support area of Polaris.com.

Get to Know Your Safety Gear

Following the safety gear and apparel recommendations will increase your chances of survival if you encounter an avalanche or become stranded in the backcountry, but even experienced and properly-equipped snowmobilers, hikers and skiers perish in avalanches or succumb to hypothermia. Using a beacon or probe for the first time during an avalanche recovery operation, or not knowing how to deploy your avalanche air bag backpack during a slide, should be considered UNACCEPTABLE to you and all members of your riding group. It’s critical that you and all members of your riding group know how to use the safety gear.

While you may know how to use your gear, you may have to rely on your riding group to find you in an avalanche. Make sure they know how to use their gear.

  • Dress in layers. Multiple layers of clothing provide the best barrier to cold and wind. Layers can be removed, but if you start out without enough layers, they cannot be added later. Avoid cotton materials, which will freeze if they get wet.

  • Wear highly visible gear.

  • Try on all gear and equipment to make sure it fits and doesn’t interfere with your riding capabilities. Place all survival aids in your backpack and wear the backpack at all times. Non-essential items can be stored on the snowmobile in an accessory bag.

  • Read and follow the manufacturer’s user and maintenance instructions for all gear. If you have questions about how your gear works, contact the manufacturer for more information.

  • Practice using your beacons, shovels and probes with your riding group in real-world conditions wearing all of your gear. Have someone hide an active “transmitting” beacon by throwing it (not walking it) into a snowbank and timing your group’s search for it.

  • Test deploying your gear. If you own an avalanche air bag backpack, check with the manufacturer’s test deployment guidelines and bottle weight replacement specifications. Most air bag backpack manufacturers recommend testing the pack once a year so you know it works and feel comfortable with the bag and deployment time.

  • Make sure your probe and shovel are in good condition and that you know how to assemble them.

Parent topic: Mountainous Terrain Riding