>>265053>about 15 minutes to get to you before the rescue turns into a recoveryAnd that's why I have another big piece of avalanche safety equipment .. my airbag pack.
If i'm not buried to begin with, there's a MUCH greater chance of survival.
A few of my riding buddies are alive today because of these airbag packs.
For those of you that don't know, there's a compressed air cylinder in the pack. There's a valve with a venturi system that attaches to a trigger handle in the shoulder strap, I pull that handle and the valve on the cylinder opens. The air from that cylinder pulls in surrounding air through the venturi, filling a ~150 liter bright orange airbag.
The airbag pack acts like a life jacket in the avalanche, keeping me on top of the snow. Mine also offers some head/neck protection.
In the unlikely event that I do end up buried, I've got 150 liters of air in my ice coffin buying me that much more time.
Spent about $1000 on that pack a few years ago. I look at the money I've put into my sled, the mileage I can put on in a day on my sled, and the terrain I ride... if I ever have to pull that handle on the mountain, that's $1000 very well spent.
Once again, >pic extremely related.