Item: Avalanche Airbag Survey: A U.S. Perspective
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Title: Avalanche Airbag Survey: A U.S. Perspective
Proceedings: Proceedings, 2012 International Snow Science Workshop, Anchorage, Alaska
Authors:
- Steve Christie [ Backcountry Access, Inc. Boulder, Colorado ]
Date: 2012
Abstract: Several avalanche accidents in the winter of 2012 propelled avalanche airbag awareness into the mainstream of the United States. In our industry weʼve been aware of airbag effectiveness for over 20 years, relying mainly on data from European airbag use provided by the SLF and ABS. This season, the CAA plans to release Canadian statistics. In the United States, thereʼs currently no tracking mechanism in place to quantify or qualify airbag use and their effectiveness in avalanche accidents, so weʼll begin that process now and continue it into the future. Our preliminary research shows that in U.S. avalanches where an airbag was deployed, over seventy percent of the victims may have been prevented from being completely buried. But numbers donʼt tell the complete story: weʼll also explore several important topics like what type of terrain they were in, how using an airbag may/may not affect decision making in avalanche terrain, and most importantly, the level of experience and avalanche education among those who were caught and deployed their airbags.
Object ID: issw-2012-361-362.pdf
Language of Article: English
Presenter(s): unknown
Keywords: avalanche airbags, accidents, avalanche safety equipment
Page Number(s): 361-362
Subjects: avalanche safety avalanche airbags
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