Dale Atkins has raised some interesting issues about the AvaLung[TM] in the autumn edition of The Avalanche Review. He is particularly concerned about non-use of the avalung. The Avalung was invented by Tom Crowley, a Denver doctor, who licensed the idea to Black Diamond. There are around a dozen known live rescues attributed to the device which enables skiers to breath when under an avalanche by evacuating CO2 away from the victim’s face. Last winter Atkins heard of two incidents where avalanche victims were not able to get the mouthpiece in their mouths.
The first was in February East Portal and the second in March (2010) at Berthoud Pass. In the East Portal incident the victim was found by companions using transceivers. The user has owned an Avalung for five years but did not think to put the device into his mouth. The Berthoud Pass victim was able to free himself from the slide, he was unable to get to the mouthpiece. Both victims complained that “everything happened too fast” to react.
Dale has a couple of important messages. He cautions avalanche educators to make students aware of the difference between the classroom and the real world. Actions which are easy to talk about may not be feasible when caught in a slide so users need to practice inserting the mouthpiece in a difficult and pressurized setting. Atkins suggests finding a suitable and safe snow slope and practice inserting the mouthpiece while rolling or tumbling downhill.
Which reminds me, Black Diamond have a safety recall on their 2010 avalanche backpacks, the plastic intake tubing can fracture in cold weather.
http://www.blackdiamondequipment.com/en-us/about-us/company/recalls#avalung
