Has the Avalung become a joke?

no one i know think it is a joke but not alot think it will save them in a big slide. seems more like a safety device for tree well submersion or terrain trap zones for riding solo. airbags have a shredding potential so not a perfect solution either.
i am old and rely on guile and intuition as well as reliable resources to avoid reliance on gear.
just my opinion and not endorsed for anyone else.
bobby

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Originally Posted by flowing alpy

i am old and rely on guile and intuition

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beats the shit out of a bag or an a-lung

heh. if only folks would just wait 72 hours. worked for the mailman......................:)

rog

I ski with my Avalung in frequently. I would rather be trying to get out of the slide or using my hands to prevent being burried then trying to get my mouthpiece in.

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Originally Posted by icelanticskier

if i entered a slope thinking an avalung would probably be something that i'd like to have my mouth around (insert jokes here fuckers), i most likely wouldn't want to be entering that slope.

avi deaths have always been wake up calls for other bc users to think about their own decision making or lack there of. someone dies, folks listen. new techs such as avalung/airbags are things that many folks will consider buying to cheat death by taking on increased risk. it's happening already and it's gonna be entertaing to watch it all go down. i don't giva fuck what folks think regarding helmets either. folks are getting hurt/dying in increasing numbers with those as well. skiing faster than they should in terrain above their abilities at higher speeds where they'da probably skied more slowly/mindfully without one and not hit that tree or rock or whatever.

flame away fartknockers!

rog

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Yeah man for sure. I end my Ice Coast season every Spring with fresh POW up at Tailgate Alaska. Over the years I have collected all of the gear I need and now rock an ABS Vario with the 18L zip in as well as my avalung. I think you hit the nail on the head when you mentioned people heading further into sketchy terrain because of that "security blanket". Really all that stuff does is bring us a wee bit closer to seeing eye-to-eye with Mother nature but at the end, she owns the day. I would never venture into the bc without my gear but at the same time, my risk assessment is from the point of view as if I was alone with nothing.

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Originally Posted by Big Paul

... I would never venture into the bc without my gear but at the same time, my risk assessment is from the point of view as if I was alone with nothing.

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I like to think this is me too. However, dropping into the big line I know where my trigger handle is...

Wow, random-ass bump. It's amazing, Advresystemgame's ignorance is second only to his butthurt. Which is odd, because I thought ignorance is bliss.

Avalung = Plan Z

I would definitely say the Avalung is no joke.

I went for a tumble on a run in Kananaskis during xmas 2011. Top to bottom, 1000'. Small avy, but endo'd pretty much the whole way down while I was in the washing machine.

When everything busted up around me and I realized I couldn't get out of the path or self-arrest, I chucked my poles, started kicking my skis off and bit onto the mouthpiece pretty god-d@mn quick. It doesn't take much time to get that thing to your mouth unless you get absoultely surprise blasted from behind on a run.

My pack is always done up pretty tightly (as I tend to pack everything but the kitchen sink), so there was never much of an issue of it ripping off.

It definitely helped me because I was able to breathe pretty comfortably (albeit quickly) as I tumbled the entire run in the avy. I'd imagine I would've ended up chocked full of snow otherwise. My buddies said the avy ran fast, and although it felt like I was f*ckin flying, it literally took an eternity to get down.

I ended up half-buried, but the sensation of the avy slowing down, starting to compress my back, push me down, and then my kicking like a mutherf*cker to try and unbury myself is a sensation that was maybe a little less trying, knowing I had the avalung firmly in my mouth (with my buddies a couple hundred feet away, safe).

Ultimately, I took the wrong entry into a narrow run that my buddies had ridden before me. I believe avy danger at the treeline was considerable that day, so we rode something to mitigate the dangers as best we could, but I still got smoked. I don't look on the avalung as my instrument to cheat death, but more so an insurance policy that will up my odds should the worst happen.

To me, it's no joke.

pretty solid first post for a ski e-site.
bF

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Originally Posted by Saltbeefjunkie

I would definitely say the Avalung is no joke.

I went for a tumble on a run in Kananaskis during xmas 2011. Top to bottom, 1000'. Small avy, but endo'd pretty much the whole way down while I was in the washing machine.

When everything busted up around me and I realized I couldn't get out of the path or self-arrest, I chucked my poles, started kicking my skis off and bit onto the mouthpiece pretty god-d@mn quick. It doesn't take much time to get that thing to your mouth unless you get absoultely surprise blasted from behind on a run.

My pack is always done up pretty tightly (as I tend to pack everything but the kitchen sink), so there was never much of an issue of it ripping off.

It definitely helped me because I was able to breathe pretty comfortably (albeit quickly) as I tumbled the entire run in the avy. I'd imagine I would've ended up chocked full of snow otherwise. My buddies said the avy ran fast, and although it felt like I was f*ckin flying, it literally took an eternity to get down.

I ended up half-buried, but the sensation of the avy slowing down, starting to compress my back, push me down, and then my kicking like a mutherf*cker to try and unbury myself is a sensation that was maybe a little less trying, knowing I had the avalung firmly in my mouth (with my buddies a couple hundred feet away, safe).

Ultimately, I took the wrong entry into a narrow run that my buddies had ridden before me. I believe avy danger at the treeline was considerable that day, so we rode something to mitigate the dangers as best we could, but I still got smoked. I don't look on the avalung as my instrument to cheat death, but more so an insurance policy that will up my odds should the worst happen.

To me, it's no joke.

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dunno man, i found that piercing my lips super tight while spitting frequently worked wonders.........whatever works:)

rog

I think you mean pursing?

Hopefully.

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Originally Posted by PNWbrit

I think you mean pursing?

Hopefully.

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thanx brit! that's what i meant. me so smaht:D

rog

I skimmed over the thread, but I didn't see anything about the CO skier who was buried for 3 hours with his avalung.

It doesn't explicitly say that he used the avalung for 3 hours to survive but, this is what they said "He had a small space in front of his face. The mouthpiece of the Avalung was inside that space."


Full story here

http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_22...during-3-hours

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Originally Posted by Stairmaster

I skimmed over the thread, but I didn't see anything about the CO skier who was buried for 3 hours with his avalung.

It doesn't explicitly say that he used the avalung for 3 hours to survive but, this is what they said "He had a small space in front of his face. The mouthpiece of the Avalung was inside that space."


Full story here

http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_22...during-3-hours

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I heard he didn't have it in, that he was buried very shallow.

What is worth finding out more about is the Eisman Hut triple burial.

Sent from my DROID4 using TGR Forums

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Originally Posted by icelanticskier

dunno man, i found that piercing my lips super tight while spitting frequently worked wonders.........whatever works:)

rog

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Were you tomahawking / tumbling in it?

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Originally Posted by neufox47

Were you tomahawking / tumbling in it?

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no, that's not my style, you should know that by now my friend. i was undersnow body surfing the shit. totally encapsuled (brit?) by the moving white mass. like a moving tomb tightly wrapped like a mummy. shit my sunglasses didn't even come off! pretty wild actually:)

stoked to ski today!!!

rog

I've come to think of the Avalung as a anti NARSID device and if it happens to help me in a avi, bonus.

I was lapping the side country a few years ago on a big day with all my gear. About 3pm my bud's all left and I took another lap in bounds. I was really tired and should have just called it a day, but I wanted more soft.
So I was solo, billygoating an area that doesn't see hardly any traffic and would easily be missed during sweep. I ended up making a stupid mistake and just flopped over head first in a really bad spot, full of deep unconsolidated snow. Luckily I could slip the mouthpiece in and breath until I could calm down and dig myself out.

Even with a partner, this can happen to any of us.

Big plus for the avalung, TSA does not accept the gas canisters for airbag packs. Travel safe every one!

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Originally Posted by PNWbrit

I think you mean pursing?

Hopefully.

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Hahaha, yeah I was confused by the 'piercing'. But yeah, I could see the pursing working in that situation too. I just recall a lot of snow, with flickering daylight whenever I came head up in the endo.

Hopefully Rog, that was the first and last one though. But maybe I'll give the pursing a go if there's a round 2. :biggrin:

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Originally Posted by DropCliffsNotBombs

You've never actually been in a slide or buried have you? I have...
Trauma-"shcmauma", it's all about being able to breathe. My friends who have died in slides over the years have all died from one thing. Not being able to breathe...

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Condolenses to your friends. I've got to point something out though. When debating avalanche safety, I don't know if the best arguement is telling someone they don't know as much about snow safety because they HAVEN'T been caught in a slide...

^ Condolences to your friends. 25% of North American avalanche deaths are from trauma.

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Originally Posted by Saltbeefjunkie

Hopefully Rog, that was the first and last one though. But maybe I'll give the pursing a go if there's a round 2. :biggrin:

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hopefully yes. i most certainly wouldn't recommend getting caught in a slide, with or without the lung or a bag. could definitely be a real spirit breaker if you get beat up real bad, or die.........

rog

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Originally Posted by Conundrum

Condolenses to your friends. I've got to point something out though. When debating avalanche safety, I don't know if the best arguement is telling someone they don't know as much about snow safety because they HAVEN'T been caught in a slide...

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If you ski long enough in avy terrain, you're bound to have some personal experiences/close calls with avalanches. Look at the stats, most incidents involve expert skiers that ski bc often with at least some formal avy training.
I wouldn't take anyone seriously that has never had any firsthand experiences themselves, preaching to me about avalanche safety.

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Originally Posted by Shredhead

I've come to think of the Avalung as a anti NARSID device and if it happens to help me in a avi, bonus.

I was lapping the side country a few years ago on a big day with all my gear. About 3pm my bud's all left and I took another lap in bounds. I was really tired and should have just called it a day, but I wanted more soft.
So I was solo, billygoating an area that doesn't see hardly any traffic and would easily be missed during sweep. I ended up making a stupid mistake and just flopped over head first in a really bad spot, full of deep unconsolidated snow. Luckily I could slip the mouthpiece in and breath until I could calm down and dig myself out.

Even with a partner, this can happen to any of us.

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This is the main reason I wear mine.