Three pieces of required gear in the backcountry: avalanche shovel, beacon and probe.
Never venture in the back without them.
Backcountry.com offers Free Shipping on The Best Winter Gear 
An avalanche shovel is a necessary piece of survival gear and is required for all high altitude trekking and climbing where snow may be encountered. For avalanches a shovel goes hand in hand with a beacon and a probe. So much so that one piece is not nearly as effective without the other two.
An avalanche shovel can serve multiple purposes in snow country including: rescue, emergency shelter, use for snow pack study (avalanche assessment), to create a tent site and to create drinking water.
- An avalanche shovel must be carried by each person traveling into the backcountry. In the event of a slide and a burial it’s a matter of life and death for those persons standing to have the shovel to dig out victims.
- Snow pack study: digging pits with an avalanche shovel can help assess the risk level for weak layers in the snow pack that can cause avalanches.
- Emergency shelter: digging out a tree well and creating an overnight stay for emergencies is completely dependent on your preparedness with an avalanche shovel.
- Tent Site: dig or level a site for when winter camping.
- Digging snow for drinking water is much warmer on the hands and much quicker with a shovel.
Since avalanche shovels can respond to emergencies in winter conditions, they have been designed to be compact and comfortable to carry. The shaft or handle of the avalanche shovels are designed to expand (like a telescope) or to break down and be put together with efficiency. The actual shovel is designed of either Lexan (for lightweight purposes) or Aluminum (for when strength and durability is required) depending on its purposes.
An avalanche shovel, beacon and probe are not a preventative tool for avalanches. It is up to you to enter the backcountry with the training and certification required to truly assess avalanche risk. However, an avalanche shovel with a beacon and probe are added insurance to your ventures into the backcountry.