Practice Practice Practice

[bholmlate]

After reading one of the latest avalanche death reports that stated that the person was found 6 feet below his sled without his air bag being deployed, Got me thinking. Any loss is tragic so I don't want to debate the fact if he had \ or if he didn't. At this point it doesn't matter to anyone especially to the family who is now one member short.

How many of you guys that wear air bags, practice with them in a similar way you practice with your beacons or run drills with your riding buddies?. I don't actually mean pulling the trigger handle and triggering the bag. Or maybe i do.

I just ran across this video (i wish i knew how to embed it) of a skier that triggered what appears to be a good size avalanche in the back country. I am not here to debate the warning signs visible in the video. I have no idea what the avalanche report said nor where he was skiing.
Personally I have never been in an avalanche but have relatives who have and I know friends who have and who have lost loved ones as a result. I can only assume, like any scary or hairy situation, it can only be described as "sensory overload". You are moving, everything is moving around you the overwhelming noise as things begin to shift. The realization that you are no longer in control all hit you at once. How you react is a matter of life and death. Please watch this video and pay attention to the point at which the skier actually inflates his air bag and I am sure you will be as shocked as I was. In my opinion It shows very dramatically how sensory overload can affect the simple action of reaching over and pulling the trigger on your airbag. I would be willing to bet more then a few of you out there would do the same thing because you are just overwhelmed by things happening around you to focus on what you need to do. Why do fighter pilots practice over and over again in dangerous situation. its so their actions become second nature when and if they ever find themselves in the same or similar situation. Triggering your air bag should be one of those actions.

There is a little bit of foul language that is dubbed over the video but it is pretty much illustrates what everyone is thinking anyway just wanted to warm you beforehand.

https://vimeo.com/150438630

 

[cerhai]

wow, at least hes safe, I too have been thinking about that death in cook city wondering why he didn't deploy, the only thing I can come up was what you mentioned he was overwhelmed, I have been wearing a avy bag for a few years now, up until this year I have only set it off at home when I first bought it just to see how it works, this year I purchased the pieps jetforce, I have set it off at least 5 times already, left hand, right hand gloves on gloves off, I'm also planning on my next ride, I will deliberately put myself in some tricky descends just to see if mentally I can pull my hands off the bars and yank the cord, multiple deployment was the biggest reason I forked over a grand for this pack, I can practice with it out in the field pack it up and set it off numerous times, the demo at the dealer lasted seven full deployments.

 

[bholmlate]

Good for you. I honestly don't thinks it is a necessity to actually set them off all the time. You just need to associate something about avalanches with the action reaching over for the handle. That way if you ever find yourself in that situation (lets hope your other avalanche training keeps you out of these types of situations) you instinctively reach for the handle without having to think about it. You still might find yourself overwhelmed but at least you have given yourself an slight advantage. It is strange how something that seems so simple in your living room can be so difficult to do when you mind is trying to comprehend multiple things happening at once. You can obviously see in this skiers situation he was not able to deploy his bag until the event was over. Lucky for him he some how managed to stay on top of the snow. Even in the off chance of a secondary slide deploying his bag when he did would not have made a bit of difference other than making him easier to spot in the debris pile

 

[AKDoug]

Many people don't realize how fast these things happen. A 100' slide above you (like that Cooke City slide) set off when you are not looking, can hit you like a truck before you even realize you're in trouble.

 

[bholmlate]

AK very good point indeed. Your comment opens up a completely different discussion regarding being aware of your surroundings at all times in the back country. We can all certainly be caught as they say flat footed by something blindsiding us. Obviously this thread was not started to discuss that tragic incident in cookie city. I was merely using it as a catalyst to ask the question about practicing with your air bag, especially after watching the skier ride out the avalanche and then deploying his air bag. You are certainly right about the shear force of a large mass such as a wall of snow coming at you in upwards of 60+ MPH if you are unaware of it coming at you. here is a video that brings that point home and these guys knew it was coming

https://youtu.be/_-gU8tsBx00