Pieps DSP – A Beacon of Failure investigation

Spencer Robertson, a student in the Mountain Adventure Skills Training (MAST) program at Fernie’s College of the Rockies, chose to write “Pieps DSP – A Beacon of Failure” for his Introduction to Tourism class paper. The subtitle of the paper is: “An investigation into the events and repercussions of the failure of the Pieps locking mechanism: real life consequences and how it affects us as guides.”

This is a very timely topic as avalanche season is upon us and we congratulate Spencer for his excellent paper. Here at Powder Canada we covered the news and recommended that all “Pieps DPS” owners accept Black Diamond’s upgrade offer, return the units and pay the cost.

Our editorial fell short of the depth of study that Spencers paper demonstrates. Most importantly Spencer confirms in detail the outstanding hazard for “Pieps DSP” users and the lack of appropriate action of behalf of Black Diamond.

Spencers paper also covers the Class Action Lawsuit filed by the law firm of Rice Harbut Elliot LLP on October 16th, 2020 in Vancouver’s Supreme Court: Case # S2010419 between Friedrich Klaus (plaintiff) and BLACK DIAMOND EQUIPMENT, LTD., CLARUS.

The upside on this court action would be compensation for those who have personally suffered as a result of Black Diamonds failure to respond and a mandatory recall order by Health Canada.

Download the full report here: Pieps Investigation S Robertson 2020

A special thank you the College of the Rockies and to Brian Bell, MAST Program Coordinator, for their dedication to this excellent program.

Email deep@powdercanada.com to request a higher resolution copy of the investigation.