http://unofficialnetworks.com/2017/0...lorado-highway
Printable View
I was wondering about liability had it taken any cars out
Wow. Insane pic.
So. Fucking. Lucky.
No. Fucking. Shit.
Switch?
Fkn L. Strong work on the extraction
Unreal.Quote:
Originally Posted by SeatownSlackey
To have Mike Barney turn up on his commute.Quote:
Originally Posted by SeatownSlackey
Now shopping for an avalung.
I have too many avalung packs hanging around the house. if you're interested.Quote:
Originally Posted by plugboots
Let me figure out which ones I'd part with.
A good article from our local paper:
https://www.durangotelegraph.com/new...ibly-go-wrong/
A few things that should be noted. Firstly, coal bank pass is not red mountain pass. The terrain is generally more sheltered, lower angle, lower elevation and closer to Durango than the skiing near Silverton and Red Mountain Pass. Consequently, it's treated more casually than the terrain just a few miles north. Also, the area where they were lost and trying to pop out onto the road is super manky and steep. Lots of small cliff bands and no real inviting lines. They were lost and not familiar with the terrain.
We skied less than a half west of there the day before while the storm was starting. Things were stable then, but the incoming snow was wet, heavier and it was warm. It sounds like these guys started west of us and went east of a normal exit route and crossing the steep slope of the Henry Brown avy path (sometimes used to access an ice climb). Glad he landed where he did, when he did. If they were further from help, that density of snow could have been the cause of a worse outcome.
Do you have cooties?Quote:
Originally Posted by PNWbrit
Avalung for the win. Amazing timing and very fortunate to have the rescuers he did
Send this one to the guy who asking about whether avalungs are outdated!
Wow... everything worked out for that guy.
He's never gonna win a lotto for the rest of his life.
Is it just me, or is his airbag trigger zipped up (in the last photo of the Durango paper article)? It looks like it was probably too short of a slide for the physics of airbags to work, but it might have made locating him easier.
BD is having a good week, first that snowboarder in Whistler with a gopro goes for a ride the a JetForce and now an avalung save with photos.
Is Mike a maggot?
"If God wants you...you can't hide if not you almost can't be stupid enough." My saying from 20+ years of paramedicine. Important qualifier is almost. Since I don't know the details not sure if applies to this skier.
Looks like the right side is zipped up, but can't see the left side. Being right handed, I run my airbag trigger in the left shoulder strap...Quote:
Originally Posted by goldenboy
You can kind of see the left strap in the durango paper, but he may have zipped it up by the time that photo was taken.Quote:
Originally Posted by adrenalated
Oh, I missed that shot. You're right, it does look zipped up.Quote:
Originally Posted by goldenboy
Per the Telegraph article:Quote:
Originally Posted by goldenboy
Quote:
About 20 minutes after he had been buried, Mike excavated the skier’s head and used his bare hands to clear the snow from his airway.
“I asked him if he could breath and he said yes,” he recalled.
Again, luck had intervened. The skier had both an airbag and Avalung. Although he was unable to deploy the bag, he did manage to get the straw from the lung in his mouth – a move that likely prolonged his life long enough to be rescued.
“His partner did a great job,” Mike said of Helmich, who it turns out, is an acquaintance. “He performed an awesome rescue, he was just totally tired when I got there.”
^^^ Yeah, but was he unable to deploy because it was zipped closed?
It sounded like everything happened REAL FAST between release, cliff drop and burial.
Often does. I'm sure he was doing his best to make evasive maneuvers and avoid the cliff/ rocks as best he could, too. Plus he also had an avalung to consider to try to get in his mouth. Still wonder if he was skiing around with it zipped up, I've seen others do it.Quote:
Originally Posted by Alpinord
Some professionals advocate NOT deploying an airbag in treed terrain. IIRC the argument is that being on top of the slide could increase velocity and make you more susceptible to trauma. I'm not sure I agree, but I'm also not aware of very much research done on the effectiveness of airbags in trees.Quote:
Originally Posted by goldenboy
Personally, I keep the trigger out the vast majority of the time. Pretty much the only time it's stowed are on skintracks that I know are 100% not exposed to terrain over 30*.
Even then I tend to leave mine out just to eliminate the potential of forgetting to get the trigger out on the decentQuote:
Originally Posted by adrenalated
Do you have a cite, or is this an around-the-campfire sort of "advocate?" Seems like suspect logic to me, particularly since most airbags are designed to offer at least some trauma protection (though I get that triggering an airbag doesn't help you if you take a splintered tree limb through the torso). I feel like I'd rather hit trees/limbs if I'm on the surface then get raked through a nightmare of broken limbs while also suffocating.Quote:
Originally Posted by adrenalated
The avalung+airbag+escape demands on your attention in a very short period of time is certainly something to chew on, particularly if you use both an avalung and an airbag. Seems like trying to escape the slide should always be goal #1.
I distinctly remember reading an argument to this effect from a particular catskiing guide/professional avalanche forecaster on his website. His site has since been deleted. I recall reading it elsewhere too but unfortunately I can't remember where.Quote:
Originally Posted by Cravenmorhead
People pay me to talk smart and make avalanches and shit. I've gone on record numerous times questioning the wisdom of airbag use in multiple scenarios. Trauma protection from airbags is anecdotal at best. More of a marketing gimmick in my opinion.Quote:
Originally Posted by Cravenmorhead
Your comment on 'goal #1' is the primary reason for not focusing on airbag deployment in certain scenarios.
Very interesting. glad to see he made it out okay, sure appears that the avalung did its job. from the research ive done (just reading, no real world avalung experience), the biggest problem is most people do not ski with the mouth piece in their mouth and trying to get it into place while subsequently being ripped down in a slide is hard to do. but damn, 20 mins under and have him driving up the road to assist is great luck.
i didnt see any info on wearing a beacon? 4 feet under is deep, I would assume he was wearing it to be located, but nothing to confirm. Would seem senseless to have an airbag and an avalung and no beacon.
id be interested in seeing some intel on the effectiveness (or lack thereof) for the airbag in trees. any more info on the slide that was captured on go pro?
edit: Found the vid.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NSMKdXvJ31M
Words from the guy caught:
http://backcountrymagazine.com/stori...y-9-avalanche/
intense.
Good writeup
I'm missing the connection here. Did somebody else mention this upthread? That clip was from Whistler area and the dude was wearing an airbag pack. Were you just citing that as an example of airbag effectiveness? Sorry. I didn't follow.Quote:
Originally Posted by steezybomber
I found it interesting that video came out the same time as the slide being discussed in this thread. Guy in Whistler had a BD airbag pack. Guy in this slide had a BD Avalung. BD put the Whistler slide up on their social media, but not the Avalung pic.Quote:
Originally Posted by LightRanger
You can make to the road with an avalung, but not with an airbagQuote:
Originally Posted by LightRanger