Originally Posted by
Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer
I purchased a Blackjack in the Mystery Ranch group buy. I typically ski everything from heavily treed runs in the Tahoe Basin to more exposed, alpine terrain in the Eastern Sierra. In some cases, I feel the airbag will be advantegous, and in other cases depending on facts and circumstances (e.g. start zone into trees), perhaps not. But who am I to really have the foresight on that?
As far as reliance on safety gear or pushing me to make more aggressive decisisions, I would say issue exists with any piece of gear above and beyond just avy gear. New rockered skis that making skiing steep, exposed lines easier... - same concept in my mind. It is more of how one deal's with that inherent mind-battle - namely, staying regimented on a process of information gathering pre-touring, during the tour and post-tour (e.g., discussions with partners at the end of the day to see what else we could have discussed). Then taking that information and running it through a decision making process. The fact that I am wearing a beacon, have compentent partners or have an airbag on should not impact my process. Will it? I hope not as I strive hard to remain systematic in a decisionary process, although this is difficult when combating (i) human nature and (i) an environment that is (A) ever changing, (B) has mutiple known and unknown information points, (C) has a risk of the unknown that I find people have difficulty assessing and (D) is, above all, a dynamic environment.
Am I happy to purchase one - yes. Is it another tool - yes. Should it impact decision making - no. Will it - I will strive my best to work towards no.
That is just my two cents.