Worthwhile Avalanche Video
One positive aspect of being a GoPro nation is that not only are avalanche accidents being documented as they happen, but often times from a variety of camera angles as well. This video does an excellent job showing the reality of being buried alive and the horror or realizing that the victim isn’t wearing a beacon.
Avalanche, A Life Saved from Trent Meisenheimer on Vimeo.
I thought one of the more educational moments in this video was that when you first see the victim go down, it doesn’t seem that bad. The avalanche doesn’t look that large and from a distance you have a fairly good idea of where the victim might be. All of this suddenly changes when the rescuer arrives on the debris pile and you suddenly lose all sense of where the person might be and simultaneously realize how large and deep the avalanche is. Even with 4-6 fit people digging as fast as they could, they barely saved the victims life and he was “only” buried about 4′ deep.
_______________________________
Help support StraightChuter.com and get a good quality avalanche stick, like a Pieps IProbe ON SALE NOW from Backcountry.com. Click on the photo below…
Category: 07 Avalanche Avoidance
An amazing video to say the least. That chin bar helmet helped to keep a decent air pocket and debris out of his gullet.
unreal. i think you hit the nail on the head with the “it doesn’t seem that bad” moment.
and now that i’ve watched it, i don’t think i’ll ever forget the wife’s reaction when she realizes there is no beacon. horrifying.
but very instructive. if you’ve got money for skis, you’ve got money for a beacon. if you’ve got time to load up your gear and drive somewhere, you’ve got time to grab your beacon.
low angle cruising or no. thanks for the reminder.
Thanks, Andrew.
Buried in an avalanche, blah blah blah. His high mark sucked and his pipes weren’t nearly loud enough, and it was all recorded on a Go Bro. So embarrassing, and definitely lame.