Backcountry Safety Chat Thread
Crackers asked me a question about the avalung and beacons in another thread so I thought I’d answer him in a new thread to make him think I’d ignored him (like I did successfully to Mizu last week)
First off, here’s a video and some text from my buddy who was caught in an avy in AK last winter.
Avalanche “science” is an imprecise science at best. There are no axioms or accurate formulas such as exist in physics or chemistry. Sometimes you can do everything right but things still go wrong and this is why we still all carry rescue gear, even the most experienced or trained amongst us. On a sunny day in Alaska, I learned that lesson well. Pits were dug (by a professional guide) with good results, similar aspects skied and I wasn’t even first down the slope when a 500ft wide, 20-30 cm deep crown broke above me and carried me 2000ft down a 50 degree slope at high speed.
It is here, before the need for rescue gear (shovel, beacon probe) where our preventative measures and gear come into place. I cut hard 45degrees after seeing the cracks. Mistaking a breaking bit of slab for the edge of the slide, I actually though I would make it just before the rug was pulled out from under me. Lucky for me, I don’t use pole straps (another preventative measure) so the only violent tugging came from my skis, which quickly broke off (literally) despite 14 din settings.
Now was the time to engage the emergency gear. I was wearing a BCA airbag pack (Float 30) but had never even practice pulled the cord. Indeed, this was only the second day I ever wore it, finding it difficult to find a place to fill it in Japan. With snow being pushed down my throat, I prioritized the avalung, which went in with ease and refocused on pulling the cord. I was being violently tumbled and quickly sank when I started to use my arms to place the lung and pull the cord but the second it was pulled I could feel myself float to the surface and the tumbling slowed. By the end, the bag had my floating on my back, with my feet down slope, not dissimilar to canyoning.
The runnout was wide and open so I doubt I would have been buried in the end but the equipment served a function nonetheless. The avalung allowed me to breathe rather than choke while tumbling, a big plus when I went to work on my airbag. The airbag changed the washing machine tumble into a gentler slide and kept me much closer to the surface (there was some pepper on the slope so close to the surface was a better place to be, even if it was going to spread out in the runnout). Finally, perhaps the most important piece of emergency equipment was the helmet. I did not bang my head but it was possible. More importantly in this case, it kept my goggles in place and made it much easier to see the avalung, ripcord and which way was up. If you are going to wear emergency preventative equipment, methinks a helmet should top the list.
I never want to go through that experience again so avoidance of avi prone terrain remains the best policy but at least I now know that if I do, I can keep my wits enough to use the equipment to help prevent tragedy. I hope this post and video reminds others that avalanche risk can never truly be eliminated so always be prepared to deal with the consequences.
PS. A week later we had a guide caught in a slough and his head pushed against rocks. He was wearing a helmet so got away with some bruising on his head. Had he not, we may have been dealing with a much worse scenario.
So, to cover the avalung question first, the pros are:
- when you’re in the slide and getting snow rammed down your throat, an avalung will let you breathe and let you focus on staying above the snow and aiming for the edge, and trying to not get your limbs ripped off. For us boarders, ditching the board is a difficult if not impossible priority. Another friend who was caught in an avy could not undo his straps as he was swept down. He managed to get spit out the side.
- if you get buried, they say you have 15mins before your chances of survival drop exponentially. Just think about how long you can hold your breath. Without an avalung, the warm air you expel will create an icemask of death around your face. With an avalung in your mouth you can breathe indefinitely (if your chest isn’t getting crushed). You’ll die of hypothermia first.
the cons are:
- trying to get it into your mouth may not be possible if you’re getting rocked around
- it won’t stop you from dying from trauma
- it costs a bit over $100
pack vs standalone avalung. I have the standalone and I like it. It’s more of a pain on the hike up since it’s one extra thing you have around your torso, if you’re taking off and putting on layers. And it’s one more thing to forget. However, it doesn’t matter which pack I choose. I might have a small 19L day pack, my fstop loka 39L camera pack, or whatever.
Beacons.
I had the tracker dts and I really liked it. So easy to use. I upgraded to the tracker 2, which is slightly smaller and has an easier search switch. I do think the earlier version was nicer to use. The tracker 2 also beeps a lot whenever you switch from send mode to search mode. It’s a bit annoying but not too much. If you’re trying to save money, the tracker is a good buy.
As for that set you linked Crackers, I actually got a similar set for some buddies a couple of years ago. There was one cheaper than that though, with a cheaper shovel and beacon.
I would recommend buying the beacon through that set and selling the shovel and probe. well, that probe is good so don’t sell it. I like my shovel: the voile yellow one. It has a snow saw in it but that sucks. Anyways, the voile one is the best selling shovel on the market. And you need to make sure the shovel fits well in your pack.
Great idea for a thread. I was actually thinking about starting one. I’m going to read through all this later. Cheers Gamblor.
While I’m here I would like to mention the ABS Avalanche Airbag - http://www.abs-airbag.com/
The ABS Airbags have been proven very effective in saving lives of those caught in avalanches.
that is insane, scary and awesome
esp since he walked away at the bottom!!
Found it Gamblor. pretty nuts. lucky guy. Ill have to dig up one of a guy that gets buried and gets dug out. scariest vid ever.
got a few questions but ill have to fire them through later
Yikes 
so here is the vid. if you can watch this and not want to get some safety gear you are nuts.
This guy did have an avlung but only half got it in his mouth. mental.
so does anyone know if its possible to get an ABS and avlung in the same pack?
also how easy is it to re-pack your ABS? does a canister only work once?
no to avalung and abs in same pack. avalung is made by black diamond. Just buy a standalone one and problem solved.
I haven’t researched the abs bags but many of the scandies that were here last winter had them.
the abs bag does have it’s negatives though. The image of the scandies from what I heard was that they just hit any slope regardless of avy danger since they just figure on pulling the string if shit breaks loose. The French and Russians, though, just hit any slope without abs bags lol
Crackers - Canisters only good for one pull of the bag. Also for flying, you have to empty the canister. See below for more info:
And TGR has a bunch of reviews on different types of airbags.
I also found the Tracker to be easy to learn and effective when searching, even for multiple burials. Much better than older analogue beacons. I have no knowledge of any other digital beacons I must add though.
thanks for the feed back Gamblor ,rider and bish
I just saw this new video on YouTube. Thought you guys might be interested.
Hey Jeremy I have a question. Is the flute bowl considered backcountry? I always want to try it but scared of avalanches might occur.
Nuh, it’s in-bounds. It’s a hike but it’s still within the boundary. You still need to take precautions though (lots of cornices etc). There was actually a bit of debate last season regarding a possible new lift to access Flute Bowl.
I’d be happy to take you up there this season.
Definitelyyy, you gotta show me flute and spanky’s man! 
this thing looks like a good idea….