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Thread: Has the Avalung become a joke?
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02-15-2012, 06:42 PM #76trenchman
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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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02-15-2012, 08:00 PM #77
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02-15-2012, 09:16 PM #78Banned
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heh. if only folks would just wait 72 hours. worked for the mailman......................
rog
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02-18-2012, 09:01 PM #79
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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03-19-2013, 01:37 PM #80Minion
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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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03-19-2013, 08:52 PM #81“I tell you, we are here on Earth to fart around, and don't let anybody tell you different.”
― Kurt Vonnegut, A Man Without a Country
www.mymountaincoop.ca
This is OUR mountain - come join us!
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03-20-2013, 03:16 PM #82
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03-20-2013, 10:25 PM #83
Avalung = Plan Z
Drive slow, homie.
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04-04-2013, 03:36 PM #84Registered User
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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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04-04-2013, 04:56 PM #85trenchman
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pretty solid first post for a ski e-site.
bF.
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04-04-2013, 05:08 PM #86Banned
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04-04-2013, 05:12 PM #87
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04-04-2013, 05:25 PM #88Banned
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04-04-2013, 07:51 PM #89
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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04-05-2013, 12:04 AM #90
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04-05-2013, 05:04 AM #91
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04-05-2013, 05:35 AM #92Banned
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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
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04-05-2013, 11:48 AM #93Registered User
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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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04-05-2013, 12:11 PM #94
Big plus for the avalung, TSA does not accept the gas canisters for airbag packs. Travel safe every one!
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04-05-2013, 01:53 PM #95Registered User
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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.
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04-05-2013, 03:40 PM #96Hucked to flat once
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04-05-2013, 04:18 PM #97
^ Condolences to your friends. 25% of North American avalanche deaths are from trauma.
Life is not lift served.
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04-05-2013, 05:10 PM #98Banned
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04-05-2013, 07:47 PM #99
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.Leave No Turn Unstoned!
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04-05-2013, 07:50 PM #100
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