Safety comes first

Winter is finally here, is snowing pretty much everywhere, and the thrill seekers are getting ready for a new adventure. That's nothing wrong in that, but keep that in mind: never ignore the safety issues.
No matter if it is called freeride, skitouring, mountaineering or winter climbing the safety gear must be always handy when you need it. Cos in a matter of seconds the thrill might became nightmare, a cool adventure can turn into disaster.
Our first call when talking about safety in winter is the avalanche gear. There are a several brands that can provide the necessary goodies: Pieps, Barryvox, Ortovox or Arva are maybe the most famous of 'em.
The basic kit means an avalanche transceiver (avalanche beacon), a probe and a shovel. The beacon can be digital, analog or both analog and digital, having up to 4 antennas in order to offer you an ultimate accuracy when looking for a victim. High tech pieces of equipment they all operating the same frequency(standard 457 kHz). Still you should be aware that just wearing one of those devices cannot prevent a burial, but only the time that you'll be under the snow. Remember that proper training in using avalanche beacons is a must.
As an avalanche beacon is not cheap to get but Pieps has a solution for the ones that still want to get the protection without spending lots on it, so, here it is, Pieps Freeride, the lightest and cheapest avalanche beacon on the market, with a size of a mobile phone; not as "smart" as the most expensive transceivers, Pieps Freeride will still be effective with appropiate training.
A cool gadget to have is the Black Diamond's Avalung, special design for breathing when buried under the snow, an ultra light piece of equipment that weights only 265 g (9.3 oz), S/M.
Having a light backpack is a priority for everyone, but make some room for the safety stuff, including a minimalist first aid kit, and when not shore about the details of the activity you're getting into please refer to local mountain rescue info center or hire a certified mountainguide.