# Avy Vid (most incredible vid I ever seen)



## crackeryaker (Oct 15, 2003)

That was intense watching that, thanks for posting!

Crazy to see how viral it's going as well. 39,000+ views today


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## Canada (Oct 24, 2006)

*Any of you use an avalung?*

After seeing that, I will have one this season.

Anyone have a link to a review or something that describes how it works. Do you ski with it in your mouth? Even with about a three minute response time as shown here, it probably saved this dude from blacking out. My heart has been in my throat since seeing this video last week.

Finally, has anyone confirmed this is real? I can't imagine staging something like this, but I am pretty naive when it comes to the nuances of internet fraud.


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## glenn (May 13, 2009)

The avalung didn't stay in. Do what you need, but it didn't work for him.

It's clearly an avalanche. I find it hard to believe someone would drop into something they knew was going to rip out just to make a fraud video. I guess it's possible, but I'd consider this real.


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## powdahound76 (Jul 20, 2006)

On Vimeo, Chappy who posted it says the guy who was buried "had a lot of Utah and Alaska backcountry experience." The guy who dug him out first was using a Lexan plastic shovel. The victim also was skiing with pole straps on in the backcountry. This did make his glove fall off, giving rescuers a good idea of his location, but this is the exception not the rule. Who still carries plastic rescue shovels? Super packed snow from a slide can bend and break heavy duty aluminum, while mild prying can snap Lexan in stiff wind crust or spring snow (this is worsened in cold weather, which last time I was there, they still have a bit of in Alaska.) You must be prepared to be caught in an avalanche when skiing that kind of terrain, including remembering that if you can still breath, you have to slow it down and force yourself to be calm. I can rant all day, but when it comes down to it, the guy who was buried is very lucky. I would love to see a report of what if any injuries he sustained and an interview on how he sees avy danger now.
LET IT SNOW!


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## nmalozzi (Jun 19, 2007)

powdahound76 said:


> On Vimeo, Chappy who posted it says the guy who was buried "had a lot of Utah and Alaska backcountry experience." The guy who dug him out first was using a Lexan plastic shovel. The victim also was skiing with pole straps on in the backcountry. This did make his glove fall off, giving rescuers a good idea of his location, but this is the exception not the rule. Who still carries plastic rescue shovels? Super packed snow from a slide can bend and break heavy duty aluminum, while mild prying can snap Lexan in stiff wind crust or spring snow (this is worsened in cold weather, which last time I was there, they still have a bit of in Alaska.) You must be prepared to be caught in an avalanche when skiing that kind of terrain, including remembering that if you can still breath, you have to slow it down and force yourself to be calm. I can rant all day, but when it comes down to it, the guy who was buried is very lucky. I would love to see a report of what if any injuries he sustained and an interview on how he sees avy danger now.
> LET IT SNOW!


Warning, playing devils advocate here: 

Not to be a dick, but ANYONE who comes out of an avalanche alive is lucky. 

The Lexan Vs Metal argument is in my opinion pretty weak way to label these guys as "inexperienced." Personally, I want my buddies carrying metal shovels when traveling with me. That being said, there is a lot of evidence showing that some of the Lexan ones are just as strong. Check around online for reviews/sites. Like I said, I'd want to be dug out with metal blades, but I think it is a flimsy way to claim these guys were "inexperienced".

As far as the pole straps go... I'm a snowboarder. So I never really thought about this. I will say though it seems like an easy thing to forget about even for an experienced BC skier. I piss everyday, and yet I still sometimes forget to zip my fly... does that mean I'm inexperienced, no. 

The breathing... have YOU ever been caught in an avalanche? I don't care how experienced you are. That shit is scary, I can't say my breathing would be ANY different. 

Moving on... IF you really wanted to call this guy inexperienced I think the better argument would have been to point out that he opted to not do one last skier cut across that would have more then likely triggered the avalanche, and he'd have never been in the meat of it. 

Anyway... I'm not trying to be a dick here, but I was reading a lot of the BS comments people had about "he shoulda this" and "he didn't that" on the site, and it's easy to call the shots from your computer chair. The guy could have been smarter for sure, but even if he had done EVERYTHING right this still could have happened. It is just the risk we take in the BC. I personally commend his buddies for making a calm and quick recovery. Sure the glove made it easier, but if these dudes had started freaking out they may have missed the glove all together or even triggered another avalanche. I think they did a great job, and I'm thankful the victim seemed to be ok and was nice enough to post his experience for us all to learn from.


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## Canada (Oct 24, 2006)

*Disclosure:*

He came through alive. Luckier than most and it speaks to the ability of his team to get him out fast. 

I've broken lexan and aluminium shovels.

Monday morning quarterbacking is what peole do here. I have never had to do a backcountry rescue. The largest slides I've been a part of were up to the knees, so fortunately I've never had to respond in anything other than practice. I have not used, and scoffed at the idea of an Ava Lung. I will now purchase one unless someone tells me the video was a fraud. Even then, I may.


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## nmalozzi (Jun 19, 2007)

Canada said:


> He came through alive. Luckier than most and it speaks to the ability of his team to get him out fast.
> 
> I've broken lexan and aluminium shovels.
> 
> Monday morning quarterbacking is what peole do here. I have never had to do a backcountry rescue. The largest slides I've been a part of were up to the knees, so fortunately I've never had to respond in anything other than practice. I have not used, and scoffed at the idea of an Ava Lung. I will now purchase one unless someone tells me the video was a fraud. Even then, I may.


Maybe I read the caption wrong, but from what I can tell... THE AVALUNG WAS NOT IN HIS MOUTH


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## powdahound76 (Jul 20, 2006)

Not once did I say "inexperienced". I did mention several mistakes I noticed in the video that could make one think that. As far as studies that show that Lexan is as good as plastic, I have an official report (that I am writing) that says I can ski as well as Seth Morrison. Bush said we had good reason (besides making Halliburton rich) for going to Iraq and Obama says we are gonna have healtcare for all and not raise deficit spending. Been buried in an avalance, no. Been in life and death experiences where slowing down and making as calm of decisions as possible saved my life, yer damn right. I have been swept from my feet by a slide and had the shit scared out of me. I do wear an Avalung and have since they became available. I have yet to ski a slope with it in my mouth. It sits unzipped and extended by my right cheek so I can grab in and put it in if I am caught in a slide. I do think it would be difficult to ski some steep and deep while breathing through an Avalung. In the world I work in we look at this as critical incident analysis more than Monday morning QBing as a process to help ourselves learn. I must agree with Malozzi that the recovery was fast and safely executed. nice work to the rescuers.
LET IT SNOW!


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## DanOrion (Jun 8, 2004)

nmalozzi said:


> I piss everyday, and yet I still sometimes forget to zip my fly... does that mean I'm inexperienced, no.


Awesome.


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## possumturd (Jul 13, 2006)

*Dig Technique*

http://www.backcountryaccess.com/english/research/documents/ShovelCaseStudy08.pdf


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## nmalozzi (Jun 19, 2007)

powdahound76 said:


> Not once did I say "inexperienced". I did mention several mistakes I noticed in the video that could make one think that. As far as studies that show that Lexan is as good as plastic, I have an official report (that I am writing) that says I can ski as well as Seth Morrison. Bush said we had good reason (besides making Halliburton rich) for going to Iraq and Obama says we are gonna have healtcare for all and not raise deficit spending. Been buried in an avalance, no. Been in life and death experiences where slowing down and making as calm of decisions as possible saved my life, yer damn right. I have been swept from my feet by a slide and had the shit scared out of me. I do wear an Avalung and have since they became available. I have yet to ski a slope with it in my mouth. It sits unzipped and extended by my right cheek so I can grab in and put it in if I am caught in a slide. I do think it would be difficult to ski some steep and deep while breathing through an Avalung. In the world I work in we look at this as critical incident analysis more than Monday morning QBing as a process to help ourselves learn. I must agree with Malozzi that the recovery was fast and safely executed. nice work to the rescuers.
> LET IT SNOW!


Sorry if my irritation with the idiots that commented on the video site sort of came out at you. I didn't mean to bash you in anyway, more just everyone in general who try to sound like they know everything about a situation they had nothing to do with. I will admit though, that your original post implied to me that you were calling them inexperienced, but after rereading I can see that I may have just read into it too much. At any rate, glad to see he was rescued, and Let It Snow indeed!


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## g.soutiere (Jul 7, 2009)

Canada said:


> I've broken lexan and aluminium shovels.


I have experianced breaking both also. I have seen lexan shovels out perform aluminium, and aluminium out perform lexan. Its more about knowing the limits of you and your equipment. as far as the avilung is concerned It is a great concept, but depending on how you get hit by the slide you might not be able to use it. hope everyone has a awsome and safe winter. p.s. its always good to play hide the beacon to get practice over the summer.


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## Sawtooth (Jul 13, 2008)

I remain unconvinced of the video's authenticity. The rescuers don't seem particularly worried about the victim's airway nor do they appear to be in a hurry. Not to mention that the entrained snow in the slough looked innocuous. The plastic vs. metal shovel argument pops up fairly often. It is easy to pick out neophyte backcountry enthusiasts because they chose light weight see through shovels or maybe even a snow-claw.


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## Canada (Oct 24, 2006)

*2 strange factors*

1.) It didn't seem to have set up.
2.) It isn't clear, but I would have thought that everyone would be on a shovel and digging hard. It seems like one guy.

Finally, the fact that I hadn't seen this previously. I'm in Utah. If a skier based here had this happen, I would have thought it would make the rounds and news fairly instantly. 

Real or not, it is scary and awesome at the same time.


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## possumturd (Jul 13, 2006)

*avy*



Canada said:


> 1.) It didn't seem to have set up.
> 2.) It isn't clear, but I would have thought that everyone would be on a shovel and digging hard. It seems like one guy.
> 
> Finally, the fact that I hadn't seen this previously. I'm in Utah. If a skier based here had this happen, I would have thought it would make the rounds and news fairly instantly.
> ...


I have my suspicion about anything I see electronically these days. What a paradox; A medium that offers us such insight and yet fosters such legitimate doubt. :|


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## Sawtooth (Jul 13, 2008)

*Authenticity*

I guess it doesn't matter as long as it gets backcountry users to continue and expand the dialogue. The interesting thing that has come of this is the discussion regarding digging techniques. The snow safety community has only recently (the last 10 years or so) started talking about the most time consuming and labor intensive part of a rescue. So if we can get people to think about the techniques for maximizing manpower and organizing their rescues the video is helpful.


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## brendodendo (Jul 18, 2004)

I watched it with a rapidly beating heart. If it makes me question my partners and the terrain I ride in, it has done it's part. Not to scare me, but to open my eyes to the possibility of what can happen in the blink of an eye out there.

Now for some fun,

YouTube - MEGAWOOSH - Bruno Kammerl jumps


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## Sawtooth (Jul 13, 2008)

brendodendo said:


> I watched it with a rapidly beating heart. If it makes me question my partners and the terrain I ride in, it has done it's part. Not to scare me, but to open my eyes to the possibility of what can happen in the blink of an eye out there.
> 
> Now for some fun,
> 
> YouTube - MEGAWOOSH - Bruno Kammerl jumps


 
Those Germans have the same effect on me. What does this mean "Megawoosh"?


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## NoCo (Jul 21, 2009)

p.s. its always good to play hide the beacon to get practice over the summer.[/QUOTE]

depends where your hiding it and who your playing with


now that pool video is crazy...that cant be real...i dont know how to make movies but it seems to me that he would have a broken back...that had to be a dummy and that guy must have been in the pool already...if not i stand by my first thought..."that had to be a dummy"


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## nmalozzi (Jun 19, 2007)

The site is a bit confusing to make sense of. Maybe sponsored by Microsoft? At any rate, the site seems to try and prove that it was legit, but I'm not sure. Check it:

Make it doable – with Microsoft Office Project 2007!


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