Got to admit that when i first read this, my mind went back to the 80's and Harry Enfield's comedy character 'Stavros' whose opening line was "Hallo everybod peeps!".
For the aged and decrepid amongst us, what are 'peeps'?
Avalanche transceivers, they give out a peep, peep radio signal. If one is turned to receive it can home in on another set that is still sending. That way you can hopefully find your mate after he/she',s been buried in an avalanche.
I remember trying to borrow a 'pieps' from the ski touring section of my local branch of the French Alpine Club not long after I arrived in France as a postdoc with very little French. After trying to explain what I wanted the guy said something like 'ah un bip bip' followed by a new arrival, a bit better informed, who explained that I wanted an ARVA (appareil de recherche de victimes d'avalanche ).