The chance of being rescued alive depends first on the speed of notification, the transport of the rescue team, the search and subsequent extrication of the victims. In Switzerland and Austria rescue operations have greatly improved in recent years with respect to notification, response time and location of the buried victim, so that in many cases the organized rescue team can dig out the victim in the steep part of the survival curve (between 18 and 35 minutes after burial). These early extrications are proof of the excellent capabilities of some of the air rescue bases in the Alps, but they are possible only when notification is given immediately after the accident, usually by chance observations of person outside the avalanche, using radios or mobile phones. It is possible to locate people equipped with an avalanche beacon directly from the helicopter during the first flight over the avalanche site by using the ADF (Automatic Direction Finder).

Decentralization of air rescue bases is the basis for a modern rescue system. The helicopter should be equipped with emergency medicine equipment and staffed by an emergency physician or paramedic.
An emergency physician and/or paramedic as well as an avalanche dog handler and avalanche search dog ("docs and dogs") must be flown to the site of the accident as quickly as possible.

If there is the possibility of activating two helicopters simultaneously, the ambulance helicopter with the emergency doctor should fly directly to the site of the accident while the second helicopter should pick up the avalanche dog handlers. The more victims missing in an avalanche, the more physicians, paramedics and mountain rescue personnel must be deployed or be put on standby.

Standard equipment includes complete winter gear, a thermometer to measure core temperature, materials for keeping the victim warm, and hot, sweet tea.