what do you carry on trips?

toilet paper and blue bags~ Forgot that

I rescanned this thread and noticed quite a few people did not include a whistle in their BC gear. I only saw it listed once in Saxy's list.
I carry a whistle and assume that other people wandering in the wilderness (or in bounds at a ski resort, for that matter) would drop what they're doing, and come to assist if I ever decided to blast away. I'm curious, do you all carry a whistle, and would you abandon lapping your favorite pow stash if you faintly heard one in the distance?
If so, it seems the whistle would be at the top of the backcountry safety/gram scale. right behind LSD, of course.

It seems like most new backpacks have a whistle built into the chest strap clip. I would guess that a lot people have one whether they realize it or not.

My usual daypack has a whistle integrated into the chest strap.
Otherwise, I carry a whistle in my general safety items.
Thinking about a rescue sled for longer trips or trips to more dangerous areas.

I carry a rappel setup with a few slings, extra carabiners, and a few small pieces of protection. Works great for short roping too.
Does anyone have any thoughts on the minimum level of ski mountaineering safety gear? ( Not including glacier travel. )

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"Backcountry Skiing: Skills for Ski Touring and Ski Mountaineering" has a great philosophy for packing gear.

Cookie, check out this sled -- it's what I've been carrying since the Phantom.

It requires some modifications to your gear.  Drill holes in tips and tails, plus holes in the ends of your shovel handle pieces (and the blade, if they're not there already).  That, plus 1/4" bolts and wingnuts (4) and a length of 4-5mm cord makes a board-stiff, bombproof rescue sled.  It's pretty impressive.  I carry that gear with me anytime the skis come out.

I carry a rappel setup with a few slings, extra carabiners, and a few small pieces of protection. Works great for short roping too.
Does anyone have any thoughts on the minimum level of ski mountaineering safety gear? ( Not including glacier travel. )

I carry 50' of 6mm line, which is pretty versatile, and weighs almost nothing. In a pinch you can arm-rap (ouch). I decided this is a better safety value per ounce than more metal. A variation on this would be to carry a basic thin rope rappel set up distributed through as party so that it does not weigh much for any one person but you can still put together a rappel (assuming nobody has fallen down the cliff yet).