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Black Diamond AvaLung II
Avalanche Burial with Black Diamond AvaLung
By Brad Barlage
Ranked #89 - Avalanche Safety
March 5, 2010
On a heli-ski trip out of Haines, AK in April 2008, experienced backcountry skier Chris Cardello was prepared and knew the risks. He was also wearing a helmet cam. This footage is an intense first person perspective on being caught in an avalanche, riding it to burial, breathing through a Black Diamond AvaLung and being rescued by trained professionals. Be safe out there! The Black Diamond AvaLung allows you to breathe fresh air directly from the snowpack, buying you precious time during a rescue. Rebreathing exhaled air when youre buried causes suffocation because the air becomes oversaturated with carbon dioxide and depleted of oxygen. The AvaLung diverts the exhausted air away from your fresh-air intake zone, considerably extending the time your partners have to conduct a successful recovery.
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Change me.
Comments Last Reply: September 5, 2011 By: Brian G. Sweeney
BD makes the claim that skier Chris Cardello breathed through an Avalung during his burial. According to a personal account from someone in the area (see http://vimeo.com/6581009), Cardello's mouth filled with snow and he didn't get the Avalung into his mouth, which would make BD's claim invalid and misleading. Could someone clarify this?
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I have seen this video shown in a number of avalanche safety presentations, one put on by the Friends of Berthoud Pass. They said that he only partially got the the tube into his mouth while the rest was blocked. Clearly this was preventing the avalung from functioning properly because if you listen to his quickly diminishing ability to breathe its clear he doesn't have a lot of time left (he was pulled out in under 5 min, extremely fortunate). I think this video is actually a warning about the likely shortcomings of avalungs if you don't ski with them in your mouth.
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So with the device half way in your mouth, is it completely useless, or slightly less useful?
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