...Do not start a beacon search until you are certain the search area is safe from avalanche danger....The search pattern should cover the entire area where the target beacon could be buried. There is no need to search above the slide area for example. The search area will cover the entire deposition area from just above the last seen area to just below the toe of the slide. Your beacon search path width will be less than 2/3 your beacon range. The best search pattern to use depends on the avalanche path and the number of searchers using beacons. There is never just one best pattern. Remember traversing a slope is faster and easier than ascending or descending it. When a slide path is wide or long enough use more than one beacon searcher at a time. Searchers should remain silent except for vital information while beacon searching is in progress. It is preferred to begin at the top and work down if practical. Beacon searchers stop every 10 meters and orient their beacons trying to pick up the signal. When a signal is detected mark the spot and leave the marker there.
...Start at the spot where the signal is first detected. orient your beacon for the loudest recieved signal. Turn your volume as low as possible while still clearly hearing the signal. Traverse the hill perpendicular to the fall line keeping the beacon orientation constant until you find a fade point. If the signal gets louder turn the volume as low as possible. Mark the fade point. Traverse 180 degrees back across the hill and find a fade point in the other direction. The straight line across the slope between these two points makes your first bracket. Go to the middle of this line. It may or may not be the same as the spot where you first found the signal. Turn 90 degrees to the first bracket. orient your beacon to the strongest signal. Turn the beacon volume as low as possible ensuring you can still hear the signal clearly. Start in a straight line maintaining a consant beacon orientation to search for a fade point. Turn 180 degrees and find the other fade point on this bracket. The brackets should get smaller as you keep lowering your volume setting. Continue making brackets at 90 degrees to each other until the bracket length is about 6 feet.
Phase 2 grid search
Click on control above to start animation
...Place the beacon as close to the snow surface as possible while maintaining a constant orientation. 
Make sure anything that can interfere with your signal reception is removed if possible. Skiis, poles, radios, shovels, quartz watches, power lines and transformers. Make brackets as small as practical before digging. With brackets this small the distance the search beacon is held above the snow surface becomes important. The beacon should be held right on the snow surface during the Phase three search. The relative distance to buried beacon can be greatly reduce by this. It is quicker to make brackets than dig holes in avalanche debris. When your brackets get less than three feet start probing the debris to locate the buried beacon. Bracket length is about two times the burial depth.
Phase 3 Pinpoint search
Click on control above to start animation