Skier survives 4 hour burial

http://austriantimes.at/news/General...der_avalanche_


Holy Shit!!

A 30-year-old ski instructor survived after being ripped away and buried for four-and-a-half hours under an avalanche in Obertauern, Austria.

The ski instructor was skiing off piste at around 13.00 on Sunday when he was swept away by an avalanche.

He was buried under the snow but miraculously survived after his avalanche air bag activated creating an air pocket - so he didn't suffocate under the snow masses.

Forty rescuers searched for the man. Rescuers were able to find signal to his mobile phone and were able to locate him.

After four-and-a-half hours they found the man under the snow and were able to dig him out alive.

He was taken to hospital - where he is being treated for hypothermia and a lung injury but is concious and expected to make a recovery.

Airbag but no beacon????

Ya. I thought that was pretty weird as well.

I feel like there's probably more to this story than was reported in this little article.

http://www.bergrettung-salzburg.at/News-Detail.256.0.html?&cHash=79a36f55084c4819dae0c9fd4 b87514b&tx_ttnews[tt_news]=1702

Seems like they did find him with a beacon. 30-45cm deep, despite the airbag unable to get out. Core temp of 34C when they got him out but he was concious and speaking straight away!

Thats a crazy tale! What's this device that they use to home in on a cel phone???

I heard a Recco receiver will manage, though from closer range than with a Recco reflector. Get close enough and a Recco unit will pick up reflections from your root buckles. Apparently 'mixed alloys' make a difference.

Airbag pack and no beacon?!
Oh those silly Euro's... So far behind the curve with regards to avy safety and understanding.
Glad he was lucky.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by neck beard

I heard a Recco receiver will manage, though from closer range than with a Recco reflector. Get close enough and a Recco unit will pick up reflections from your root buckles. Apparently 'mixed alloys' make a difference.

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True. I've worked with the Recco and it picks up everything.

Obviously, you're almost certainly dead as fuck if it comes to the patrol coming with the Recco to look for you. But cool technology none the less.

The new Recco receivers can even search for beacon signals at the same time. The technology has come a long way since they first came out.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Clownshoe

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Obviously, you're almost certainly dead as fuck if it comes to the patrol coming with the Recco to look for you. But cool technology none the less.

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I used to think of it as a great body recovery tool and I would obviously prefer to rely on partner rescue in the first step, but I can imagine a lot of situations in Europe where it would be fast and effective. Fast as-in within 10 minutes, which makes it a legit rescue tool.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Incompetent Boob

I used to think of it as a great body recovery tool and I would obviously prefer to rely on partner rescue in the first step, but I can imagine a lot of situations in Europe where it would be fast and effective. Fast as-in within 10 minutes, which makes it a legit rescue tool.

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You're right. I was being a bit morbid. In a lucky circumstance, such as a witnessed burial inbounds or near backcountry, it certainly is possible that you could be saved by a RECCO or an avalanche dog.

There have been reports from Europe--rare--of survival after the prolonged burial of victims who were pulseless and not breathing. These victims had air pockets and their hearts stopped beating because of cold. They were transported cold to hospitals where they were rewarmed on a heart lung machine--the kind used to do open heart surgery. A quote from one of the articles: " Pulseless victims with a patent airway and a core temperature<32°C should receive uninterrupted cardiopulmonary resuscitation and be transported to a hospital with extracorporeal rewarming facilities." If the airway is free of snow one can assume that they did not die from asphyxia. Of course most of the patients who meet these criteria have died of trauma, not hypothermia, but extraordinary efforts seem warranted in this young, otherwise healthy population.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by DropCliffsNotBombs

Airbag pack and no beacon?!
Oh those silly Euro's... So far behind the curve with regards to avy safety and understanding.
Glad he was lucky.

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He did have a beacon (LVS or Lawinenpiepser in German).

http://derstandard.at/1363706569005/...ebend-geborgen

and

http://www.regionews.at/newsdetail/M...eberlebt-54019

- He was skiing by himself during lunch break.
- He was reported missing a few hours later.
- They found out the last lift he had used via his lift pass # and the cell tower he was logged in to (he was buried only about 1 foot deep).
- Then they found one of his ski poles, and finally found the victim via beacon search.