I just thought I’d share this video of an avalanche UK snowboarder Johno Verity was caught in while filming in New Zealand a few years ago. After a few close calls last year (like this and this), I’m pretty much scared shitless of avalanches these days (which might be a good thing?), but I’m hoping watching videos like this will help me “get over it”.
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considering an airbag after all this close calls and many days solo skiing?
I see too many clips of people exposing more than one rider to avalanche terrain these days…isn’t it common sense not to do this??! be safe out there this winter!
Umm, why do you want to “get over” a fear of avalanches? It’s not like an irrational phobia or anything.
gilles…i’m considering it. BUT, i really need them to become lighter for me to really want to use one. hopefully some manufacturer will jump in the game soon and revolutionized the technology so they can make ABS packs light.
tom…while fear of avalanches is a rational feeling, i don’t want to be over-conservative in my decision making either.
Predicting an avalanche on a slope over 30 degrees at any given time is a matter of educated guessing; sometimes there is enough information available to make the guessing more precice, but there are always enough variables in the snow pack and under the snowpack that it still boils down to educated guessing.
As a result, a skier will almost never be able to predict with certainty whether a slope over 30 degrees will avalanche. Absent certainty, a skier’s decision to ski (or not ski) a slope over 30 degrees will always either be “too conservative” or “too risky.”
Given the inherent uncertainty, I am trying to understand why being “too-conservative” is something to avoid.
Outlaw avalung = 1710g
BCA Float 30 = 3000g
Are you saying that 1300g (less than 3 lbs) is preventing you from carrying a piece of safety equipment in the backcountry?
Since avoiding burial is the most important survival factor in an avalanche, it seems to me the most obvious gear upgrade of the season. I bought last year’s BCA float that really doesn’t work that well as a pack. It’s more of a pack built around the airbag system than an airbag built into a pack. BCA packs have always been really well thought out so it was hard to understand this blunder coming from them. Looks like the redesigned line that just came out this year is really well done although they can still work to bring the wieght down, but it may never get below 6-7lbs. The extra weight may make the airbag more optional than a beacon for low-danger days or high and long. Now that I have it though, I feel that deciding to tour without it is actually a reduction in my margin of safety (as opposed to seeing it as an optional piece I can use to increase safety).
thanks for the take wyatt. i guess if there is so much uncertainty and one was too conservative…they might never ski anything interesting.
and pistoir…i don’t use an outlaw avalung. 😉
regarding the weight though. i’d say a lot of what i would and wouldn’t want to carry depends on the conditions and what i’m skiing.
i’m not sure what i’d pick if i had to choose beacon or an ABS, but i’d probably at least want to be on the same program as my partner.
http://youtu.be/1ovr55k6evE
Avi injury in Wyoming — picked up from Outerlocal.com
I like the sight of the body being dragged over the snow. It gives you something to think about. The blood & shattered ankle aren’t bad either.
with air bags all the rage these days is there any word/documentation on how the hold up in real life? I mean i’ve seen all the videos in the alps and shit, but I don’t ride there. Most of the days that i’m actually concerned about avalanches and would probably need the bag are high danger days, i’m not on wide open terrain those days…
I would like to see how the bag material holds up when it is pulled through a lot of rocks and trees. will it tear and deflate?
i’m not really sold on the airbag idea, at least not yet. not to mention all of the packs associated with air bags really suck.
wa-surf…though the JHSP all use ABS packs, i don’t feel like i see many people with them in the jh backcountry. maybe the shredders at JHMR use them in the sidecountry, but i wouldn’t really know. hell, maybe i’d use one too if i were ripping 2k’ side-country lines in sick pow with who knows how many other skiers.
i kinda have the same feeling regarding the hazard and the need for an airbag. yeah, i’ve had my close calls, but most of the time if the hazard it high, i’m likely just hitting my standard zones which i am familiar with and know where the safe skiing is.
that being said, if someone were to make a really nice 30-35L ABS ski-pack that was light (maybe 4lbs?), i’d probably use it periodically throughout the season.