Brazil Nut Theory

[coldfoot]

So you're caught in an avalanche. It's big, and you can't ski out of it, and you've been knocked down. Do you...

(A) Kick and "swim" to attempt to stay on top of the debris and not be buried due to physical exertion

or

(B) curl into to fetal position (to avoid breaking appendages) with one handing protecting airway and one covering the neck (i.e. C1 to C4), riding the slide out as a large mass that will float to the top (not unlike a Brazil nut floating to the top of a jar of shaken peanuts)

or

(C) ?

Please discuss, thanks for your considerate response.

(+1 credibility point to those who've been in an avalanche)

[mikebrom]

http://www.avalanche.org/~nac/NAC/te...eltMeiners.pdf

ps. keep your points.

[stevenc]

I will one day post the story.

But from my experiance, swimming worked. I was on my back and kind of doing a treading water motion. I grabbed anything I could to make sure I stayed ontop. Fortunatly I stayed ontop and was burried waist deep and was able to dig myself out and join in the search.

[fallguy]

the only ride i've taken was a hard slab at kirkwood and was able to stay on top and ski out diagonaly. but swimming still seems like the way to go in anything soft and flowing.

[hafilax]

Really the Brazil Nut Theory applies to the fact that large bodies tend to the surface of a turbulent flow. This is the principal behind the air bag packs. It has to do with the volume of your body. Obviously people get buried so relying on the Brazil Nut Effect to keep you on top won't work without increasing your volume significantly.

If you're heading for trees or a cliff the fetal position might be a good idea. Otherwise the strategies are basically to get to the flanks or dig into the bed to escape out the top.

One interesting piece of advice I was given is to grab one of the shoulder straps of your pack as you feel the slide slowing. This will ensure that you get a good warm appendage in front of your face to form an air pocket.

[mrkristofo]

My only experience was a pretty short one (came to a stop fairly quickly) but in that bit of time I was still up to my neck. My reaction actually was to throw my poles and swim like hell (I guess it worked)....BUT, had I been buried completely, I would have been f***ed because my arm was in no place to make an air pocket.

As far as the Brazil nut goes...if there's larger blocks than you in an avy (heaven forbid), what then?

[hafilax]

There's a size threshold. As long as you are bigger than that you will end up on top. It doesn't matter if other stuff ends up on top with you.