Dumb idea?

[Clambake]

I know this sounds completely off the wall but I'm wondering if a helmet with heated elements on the outside that activate when you're buried would prevent ice masking?

It could be enough to buy you a workable void in a consolidated snowpack.

Something to consider...

[El Chupacabra]

I hear you can piss your way out of an avalanche -- just bring 2 cases of beer with you, and start drinking when the slide takes you down.

[AltaPowderDaze]

interesting idea but how would it work? you'd have to have a large battery pack stashed somewhere and a way to turn it on when you need it. if the thing doesn't melt your plastic helmet to your head, then you live to deal with hypothermia issues as the snow melts onto your head and then your body.

the interesting part may be if it actually would work w/o negative effects. it would seem that keeping warm air infront of your mouth would keep the warm moist air coming out of your mouth from condensing on the snow immediatly infront of you. it just may give you a slightly larger air pocket. i don't think i'd want to be a product tester, even under controlled circumstances.

[lemon boy]

heated helmet < FF helmet with avalung built in

[eirikainersharp]

... something I've been thinking about: carrying a very small container of compressed air (maybe 1hr supply at 1 atmospher) in you pack with a regulator attached to a avalung type mouth piece

[bio-smear]

... something I've been thinking about what carrying a very small container of compressed air (1hr supply at 1atmospher) in you pacpack with a regulator attached to a avalung type mouth piece

yeah, like a SpareAir thing that they make for divers.

[ninjabirdman]

isn't the warm air that you exhale what makes the icemask? if you melt the snow around your face and then it refreezes, you have a hard shell that prevents extracting any air from the snowpack?

my uninformed $.02