Avalanche Burial with Black Diamond AvaLung

[bigparao]

Here's the original (unedited video) along with story in case anyone is still looking for this vimeo(dot)com/6581009



[wolverinedawg24]

If he hadn't tried to stop above the break and instead straight-lined it over the avalanche would he have been able to avoid getting buried?

[TheDeranged123]

Anyone have a link to the original video?

Also that's gotta be the longest 5 minutes imaginable.

[fortboy84]

@TheDeranged123 "Skier films avalanche burying him"

[crv26]

@gunnermac70 agreed agreed agreed

[skanky87]

Dude 5 minutes is a quick rescue... I want to see if the avalung can actually get you thru a full hour

[SymAmineC8H11N]

@skanky87 just use scba mask w/ tank ful of compressed o2, you'll last much longer & will take up less space

[Nameunavailabletoday]

Would it be a ridiculous idea to have the avalung already in your mouth as you start down a particularly dangerous slope?

I imagine that making a practice of this is also making a practice of exposing oneself to increasingly extreme avalanche danger, which is apt to kill you faster from trauma than from suffocation.

[piivo]

@Nameunavailabletoday can't breath well enough. kind of ends up not being any fun skiing the dangerous slope, even if you don't go under, so u might a well avoid it in the first place. my experience anyhow.

[brendanbollweg]

if u pause at 0:30 u can see its already breaking up

[Thedarkdog95]

wow that most be kinda creepy:/

[coloradoskiauthority]

most people who die in avalanches die from trauma or not being found. A beacon, a good friend and great decision making are sufficient.

[JDankens]

These avalungs work, but only when you can get the damn thing in your mouth; which is hard to do when you get caught in an avalanche.

[JDankens]

You have about 15min without an Avalung.

[RDub0711]

To quote:

"He had a Black Diamond Avalung on, but as you can tell from the video while he's talking as he's dropping in, it wasn't in his mouth to start. He tried to shove it in the instant of starting to get sucked down, but it didn't stay in fully during his ragdoll descent. It was just off to the corner of his mouth he said, and he definitely got some snow / ice in his mouth still."

[RDub0711]

If you go to this guy's vimeo, you can read that he wasn't able to get the Avalung breathing tube into his mouth while tumbling in the avalanche. He is not using the Avalung in this video, and he couldn't once he was trapped in the snow.

I'm not saying it isn't a device that will save your life, but in this video he isn't using it and was only able to survive because his friends found him before he suffocated.

[mat129563]

lol

[malsponger]

This video is crap and a real bad marketing effort by Black Diamond imo, given the severity of the market they are in. They are restoring comfort to a situation that should never be seen as "comfortable". Regardless i would say I'd rather have one on me than not have one on me. If it betters your chances and cost $100 why not? But yeah would seem a little tough in a real case scenario to get it into your mouth and keep it there.

[hanta08]

He didnt have avalung in his mouth! Thats how original video sais!

[rejman]

hahaha omg pure comercial

[thierracing]

ill be getting one of those this year thats for sure

[DougieBarclay]

wth, he didn't even use the avalung, he tried but didn't get it in his mouth in time. Way to go blackdiamond.

[xc33s]

4:48

yeah right...time flies...but not so fast...

[cyrex686]

"I tried to remain as composed as possible and make sure my AvaLung was in. As I was getting buried and the slide slowed, I threw one hand up and with my other hand I grasped the AvaLung, which had been ripped out of my mouth during the turbulent ride. While I was buried, I tried to be as calm as possible—I knew my hand was exposed so my crew would be digging me out shortly. I was able to breathe through the AvaLung, but it was difficult due to the snow jammed down my throat.

[bigpow35]

I rode a large class 3 avi near Valdez in 2006. Got the Avalung in as soon as it fractured. The tumble was so violent that it felt like a 300lb linebacker ripped it out of my mouth. Somehow I managed to get the mouthpiece back in but buy then my throat was clogged with snow. I think it would have worked if I managed to hold it in my mouth. Bite down tight on the mouth piece!

[effendi13]

Did Black Diamond even get permission to use this video?!?

[Matzix3012]

It seems so, as the original version of this video is also on youtube. Before that video had a different description, which got adjusted to the black diamond advertisement text. The original text told: "He had a Black Diamond Avalung on, but (...) it wasn't in his mouth to start. He tried to shove it in the instant of starting to get sucked down, but it didn't stay. It was just off to the corner of his mouth he said, and he definitely got snow / ice build up (...)".

[TwoThirdsPi]

i fucking love skiing

[ltblank]

TwoThirdsPi, this is a great comment. Not random at all. Well done!

[nutters3]

ALso it should be pointed out that most death from avalanches are caused by blunt force trauma and not asphyxiation. SO think about that for a minute..

[superfebs]

That's why the AIR BAG is something for I'm saving my money, not this tube.

[nutters3]

air bag is no help when your head is wrapped around a tree..

[superfebs]

Actually it is. Search for "snowpulse", it's intended both to let you on the top of the avalanche and not to sink, AND to protect your head.

The problems are, that it weights several kilograms and thus is not very suited for ski-touring, and most important, I can't find independent tests and review of the item.

[nutters3]

Since 1990, Swiss Federal Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research (SLF) has documented Avalanche Accidents when abs bag was used

106 documented cases, 105 people survived.

Of the 105 people - 90% were not even buried or only partially

10% were completely but they were buried so close to the surface that they were easy to locate.

Statistical Analysis by the International Committee for Alpine Rescue (ICAR) have shown that survival in an avalanche will increase by 98% with the use of an Airbag.

[superfebs]

Thank you so much for this informative post.

Now the question is: there are more infos about these statistics? I mean about the specific airbag being used.

Thank you so much.

[JDankens]

@superfebs Definitely, I'm getting and air bag. Much quicker and in a soft slab avalanche, the more volume you create the more buoyant you are. It's kind of like flowing in a river so it helps you 'stay afloat'. I guess they could incorporate and avalung and airbag in the same pack though...

[nutters3]

Agreed avalung is pushing it here becuase it is clear that it is not all the way in his mouth..Furthermore the skier himself has said that it was not totally in his mouth.

[alltheluck]

It should be a MANDATORY piece of gear if you want to ride the backcountry anywhere PERIOD!

[marcuso68]

So, he was under the snow for over 4 hours??/ WTF? why should this guy be in the back country without a beakon in the first place??

[alltheluck]

He was only buried for 4 and a half minutes. You're right about the beacon but the full story goes as follows... He had a Black Diamond Avalung on, but as you can tell from the video while he's talking as he's dropping in, it wasn't in his mouth to start. He tried to shove it in the instant of starting to get sucked down, but it didn't stay. It was just off to the corner of his mouth he said so this is a bunk ad. The guy didnt even have it working at the time.

[blank10123]

4 minutes not hours look it up on vimeo for the background story

[Bobbydickheaded]

lol, so either that clock was incredible fast, or those rescuers are moving incredible slow, scarry shit either way, 4 minutes would seem like 4 hours

[crv26]

from a back country rider, i totally and completely agree!!!

[Imm0ralMin0rity]

such amazing insight.

[poor500]

this is cool but probly creepy but i love skiing no matter what

[TruckeeLivin]

This video has been edited down from what really happened. He actually never got the avi lung fully in his mouth and if they would actually show the conclusion you would see that they have to help clear his air way. Shameless video that doesn't tell the entire story.

[jenkster09]

Whether or not it was fully in is irrelevent, even having it partially in his mouth contributed to his survival time by distributing his Co2 to other parts of the snowpack instead of fully saturating the oxygen available in front him thereby allowing him the time needed for his rescue and survival.

[anthonyalbo]

regardless the avalung still helped him a lot

[thierracing]

@anthonyalbo

in the real video he stated that he didnt even get it in his mouth

[hilato]

@TruckeeLivin where is the real video here.

[fortboy84]

@hilato "Skier films avalanche burying him"

[girlietexan]

that was a very unsettling video

[spork24601]

Yeah this is like watching a real-life nightmare.

[DogOnFilms]

ACTUALLY, if you watch the whole video closely, you'll see that the asterisk is used to cite the study that shows the avalung extends breathing time while buried.

[live2ski4powder]

i love how they put an asterik next to 58 minutes lol