Avalung

[Justin]

Anyone else see the cover pic over at TT today? 1hr 'buried alive' with the avalung.

Pretty dang amazing -- I have 2 outstanding doubt in this product regardless.

1. If I'm caught in an avalanche am I going to actually be conscious enough to use this device?

2. assuming I am, am I actually going to get the thing in my mouth?

Thoughts?

[PWDR8S]

The mouthpiece should be close to your mouth... within reason...outside your jacket....if and when you're 'riding' that slide, shuck your poles and then put the avalung in your mouth immediately and shuck skis to avoid getting sucked under and leg breakage BUT KEEP YOUR PACK ON..... by keeping the pack on you're a bigger object which tends to stay closer to the surface in slides AND you're a bigger target to hit for the probes if you're under the snow.

They had high regard for the avalung in the Avi class I just finished.

[Justin]

They had high regard for the avalung in the Avi class I just finished.


of course, but like any other avy tool, I'm afraid it might provide an even higher false sense of security...

[Justin]

http://www.telemarktips.com/Resources/Cover12_19_05.jpg

[Affix Snow]

Simply, i want one.

I agree w/ you in that will i actually get the avalung in my mouth? In the chance that i do ill be thankful i have it. In the chance i dont, im prolly screwed and my chances just went way down. Either way, you are caught in an avalanche where anything can happen, so why not have one more item that can HELP?

[RR]

Simply, i want one...likewise, it's just out of budget after the beacon this season. Next season, it's the top item on the list, before anything else new!

The first account I read was a report by the slide victim 3-4 years back. His account of the incident was revealling of two things, I deal with them later. At the top, he checked his beacon, zipped-up jacket, ttook one last look around for dropped gear and then put the avalung (ver 1) mouthpiece in his mouth before dropping in.

He got slid part way down, getting beat up in the process and was fully buried. It took a long time to find him as it was a big gully.

Breathing and cold is so much better than just cold.

1) The mouthpiece helped keep his teeth intact as he took some ice chunks to the face

2) What with being pounded, he would not have been able to insert the mouthpiece during the avi.

I respect Justin's point. We will get overconfident until we get slapped by reality...it's in our nature. Still one more layer of protection against harsh reality actually killing us (or worse, making us a tragic burden on others) must be considered worthy of consideration.

[Justin]

At the top, he checked his beacon, zipped-up jacket, ttook one last look around for dropped gear and then put the avalung (ver 1) mouthpiece in his mouth before dropping in.



the fact he was concerned enough about 'getting caught' that he stuck the avalung in his mouth PRIOR to dropping in, should be a warning sign in it's self.

[RR]

the fact he was concerned enough about 'getting caught' that he stuck the avalung in his mouth PRIOR to dropping in, should be a warning sign in it's self.
hubris is a biatch after all...I agree, but sometimes we just look the other way....

Flip Wilson was right: "The devil made me do it!"

Edit: here is a link to the '02 Morrisey heli skiing avi-burial:
http://www.telemarktips.com/AvyAtkins.html

[NtrentT]

the fact he was concerned enough about 'getting caught' that he stuck the avalung in his mouth PRIOR to dropping in, should be a warning sign in it's self.

I was thinking that exact thing.

Thinking to myself as I am reading "Did he do that on purpose?"

[astrotech]

"Did he do that on purpose?"

I think part of it is the question of whether or not you would have enough time to get the mouthpiece in if an avi kicked off underneath you. Which basically comes down to a questin of conditions. I guess a person has to judge in what are the chances of something kicking off and how big is it going to be. I mean you could walk around with the mouthpiece in the whole time you are in the mountains, but that does make your airflow a bit more restrictive. Also, as small as the Avalung is it is yet another piece of something dangling on the outside of your jacket and that can become an issue as well.

I have an Avalung, I think it is a great device. However I look on it as just another tool in the arsenal and none of these tools are a substitute for knowledge though.

[DMC]

"Sitting on a park bench... Watching little girls with bad intent..."

Ohhh wait - avalung - I thought you said Aqualung....
http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B00000GAIW.01._SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg