Поучительное очень, с иллюстрациями

Запись от первого лица от человека попавшего в лавину и просидевшего
там 45 минут пока его корефаны носились по склону с включенными
на поиск трансиверами.

I was the third skier on the south facing north side avalanche chute.
I triggered the slab avalanche about 40' from the crown line in the shown
in the first video. The crown size varied from 10" to 48" and went about
100' wide. The slide went from an elevation of about 8,400' down to 7,400'.
The bed layer was glazed ice. We did not dig a pit.

When I triggered the avalanche, I saw cracking everywhere. I tried to
ski out at a fast 45 degrees to the left but was immediately buried.
I pulled my BCA float bag. I lost one ski and both poles. I was taken
from about 70' below the crown line to 100' from the edge of the debris
pile, about 1,000 vertical feet. My ski felt like it was pulling me down
while my airbag felt like it was pulling me up. I tried swimming to the
surface and kept my mouth shut but I was still inhaling snow. Given the
fades from light to dark and back again, I had a good idea which way
was up. I believed that I was going to downhill head first on my back.
My ride took about 30 to 40 seconds. As I felt the avalanche settle,
I tried to protect my airway with one arm while sticking the other up
to the surface to aid rescuers. My gloved hand almost broke the surface.

My ski buddies were in a safe zone on the skiers left about 200' from
the bottom edge of the slide. They performed a beacon search near the
bottom of the debris pile but were not far enough down in the debris
to get a signal. They were moving too quickly and believed I was upslope.
They then hiked up the slope while performing a beacon search. Meanwhile,
I began flicking snow with my one free glove. I had been able to create
an air pocket with my other hand but was still breathing snow. I sensed
lighter snow above me. I kept digging and flicking snow with my free
hand. After about 5 minutes I was able to move my digging arm enough
to create a tunnel to breath through to the surface. After another 10
minutes of one arm digging I was able to reach my radio tell my friends
I was fully buried but had an airway. They had made it about 800'
vertical feet up the slide path by then and then began running back
down to dig me out. By the time they reached me, I had freed my other
arm. My only injuries were some bruising and a small cut. [This person
was buried for a total of 45 minutes]

We made many mistakes yesterday. I know I am alive more from luck than
anything else.

45 минут, Карл.
У человека был avalanche airbag, и все равно его закопало фута на два.
Два соратника, наблюдаемые на видео по ссылке носились взад-вперед по
склону, и к моменту когда они его нашли он практически выкопался
самостоятельно. Надо отметить, что с везением там было не очень хорошо,
от айрбэга обычно ожидается, что пациент (patient, в среде ски патроллеров
предпочитают не использовать слово victim без крайней необходимости)
будет вкопан ну максимум по плечи. Также, чувак быстро соображал, если
успел защитить лицо от "снежной маски" и выставить руку (благополучно
не замеченную соратниками) вверх.

Но 45 минут!
Я понимаю, что ситуация срессовая в частности, и в горах зимой человек
вообще соображает не так как сидя за компом под ТКП с чашкой кофе, я
никого не собираюсь обвинять за исключением того, что пацаны просто
пошли кататься на авось, в день с considerable avalanche danger, на
подветренный склон примерно 35 градусов, не сделав ни одного теста.
И судя по всему, не имея четкого преедставления что делать с трансивером.

Напоследок, шершавым языком статистики. В минувшем сезоне в Калифорнии
в лавинах погиб один человек, причем на курорте. При этом только записано
и только в районе Тахо 16 close calls.

Берегите себя.