Snowboarder survives avalanche using airbag
February 5, 2012
Wow, that's great, what a cool video. If I was into BC skiing I would invest in one of those for sure. I wonder if it is more difficult for skiers to stay 'upright' than it is for snowboarders - it looks like she was able to keep pretty under control while riding down the avalanche.
That speaks more to the /type/ of avalanche she was in (slow-moving hard-slab type) than the gear she was on.
Faster-moving hard slabs are deadly; airbags might help but if the snow/ice is dense enough even a partially buried person can have major organ crushage. Slough type avalanches are not /quite/ so deadly and airbags sort of work; the nice thing about really dense snow/ice is that it generally tends not to slough off so crushage is not as big a risk in a slough avy.
Wind (airborne mass) avalanches are deadly and nothing, not skis, not snowboard, not airbags, nothing works. Fortunately those happen seldom and require major run-up to acquire energy. That's the sort that takes out cars on valley-bottom roads.
Wet (isothermic) type avalanches are extremely deadly, skis do not work, snowboards do not work, airbags may or may not work (I don't know).
Check with your airline before you buy one of these for destination skiing. The airbag deployment system may not be allowed on board the plane, or in checked luggage either.
what the hell is that fluffy white stuff she is floating on?
It's the opposite of a seatbelt... where you get stuck under water while wearing it. Meanwhile, I'd highly recommend wearing such a device in avalanche country, but you'd be amazed at how many people survive avalanches, yet just as surprised to see how careless others are in avalanche country. Lucky for us here, it doesn't look like we are even close to getting any sort of snow accumulation (for the next 6 days)
Those a$$clowns had no business being in the BC with the unstable snow pack in the first place. What idiots.
