Jimmeh,
Its my experience, that the equipment that you haven't got or can't afford, can be hired at location. you right the cost of a beacon is very expensive, but if you are going to do this a lot in the future, then It is an expense worth making. You can buy commercial water/snow dye packs, But really I've tried them and on snow a bottle of food colouring produces an equal effect (red I found to be particularly good)
The cost of a guide, can of course be split between the members of your group, and a good guide can enhance your trip with local knowledge and information, but please check their credentials before you go. and book in advance.
While pictures of St Bernard with barrels of brandy, to revive the stricken make an excellent picture I would advise against taking booze, unless of course this is in the warm afterward, as it speeds up dehydration in the body. Make sure you have a good breakfast in the morning, something that will release energy slowly over the day (porridge is a good one! and all those Scots can't be wrong
). As I said in my earlier post, Boiled sweets are a good emergency food, as they can be dissolved in hot water or tea and provide a good source of instant energy that only sugar can.
Again if you are going way off piste then I would really advise hiring an emergency sat beacon. which at the touch of a button will send your co-ordinates to the nearest emergency outpost via a monitored centre, (a really good avalanche beacon on its own is useless if there is nobody around to dig you out!!). Expensive to buy but reasonable to hire, and have had really good reviews in Canada and America, (the one I use is called SPOT).
Another piece of emergency equipment I take is a strobe light (these can be bought quite cheaply off evil bay) In a chopper at 50M in the mountains everything looks the same, and in the dark!!! well ......
The High Mountains are some of the most beautiful places on earth, and really worth the trip. Most of all my advice is to use your common sense, before going through a gorge assess the slopes and any overhanging snow, don't take too long to pass through and do so one at a time, so if anything does go wrong, your mates can dig you out.
Most of all Enough yourself and have a wonderful time
Day