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Why is the
AVALANCHE
BALL
not buried under an
avalanche?
The specifical weight
of even the finest powder snow is higher by several times over than the balloon
of the AVALANCHE BALL
system. This is why the balloon stays floating on the surface of the avalanche,
just like a ball on water. The system has been successfully tested in numerous
avalanche experiments. The red balloon remained always visible on the surface.
Its connecting rope allows the balloon to evade avalanche pressure and stay on
top of secondary avalanches (experiment results).
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The first experiments were carried
out with a rope of more than 12 ms. As more than 90 % of all buried avalanche
victims are located not deeper than 1.5 ms. (data source: avalanche statistics
of Eidg. Institut für
Schnee- und Lawinenforschung, Weissfluhjoch/Davos, CH) the length was reduced to
6 ms. As a consequence, the
balloon stays closer to its user, location and recovery is even faster. The
difference of flow speed between the balloon on top and a buried person under an
avalanche stretches the rope on the surface. The rope remained visible in all
avalanche experiments.
An extended avalanche experiment in Davos (2001) has shown, that the rope
(strength: 4 mms.) can even be drawn out of hard packed snow easily. Data
source: Avalanche experiment Davos/Results and conclusions by expert witness and
chief instructor of OEAV (Austrian Alpine Association).
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The connection rope is there to
hold the AVALANCHE BALL
connected to its user. With a strength of 4 mms. and a tensile strength of 460
kgs. (the AVALANCHE BALL
weighs only 0,5 kgs.), the rope is capable of carrying 920 times over the weight
it is attached to.
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How often can I use the
AVALANCHE BALL?
!!! Unlimited !!!
The AVALANCHE BALL
is deployed by spring activation (without gas or batteries), the system can be
used and function-checked or released for training as often as you want, without
any further cost.
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Avalanche experiments have shown
that buried "victims" are always transported slower in th avalanche than the
light AVALANCHE BALL
on the surface. The balloon is always floating directly in front of the buried
person. When the avalanche stops, the
AVALANCHE BALL
is located further down the valley. The red balloon allows fast location of
victims even from a major distance.
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Generally yes.
85% of all users were able to release the Airbag system in time, even without
training. In case of the
AVALANCHE BALL, release
for training purposes is possible without any additional cost. The first
avalanche accidents last winter have shown, that users of the system had no
problems in releasing the
AVALANCHE BALL
in time.
Even film documents show that most avalanche victims would have had enough time
to activate a system of this kind. Formerly buried and recovered persons have
confirmed this largely.
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A complete system weighs
approximately 980 gs. and consists of balloon, rope, separate waist belt and a
system bag designed for fitting on any current backpack.
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The use of transceivers is a common
standard. However, chances of being recovered alive with a transceiver depend
mainly on the helpers.
After an avalanche accident, friends of the victim are usually in shock.
Behaviour and knowledge of the helpers are decisive for the survival of entirely
buried people. Experience shows that only few people are properly prepared to
act correctly in case of an accident. Even if under these circumstances, the
chances of being recovered alive with a transceiver are relatively low, there is
no need to renounce to this system as back up device - if the
AVALANCHE BALL
user should not have time ot release the syste, he can still rely on a
statistical chance of 20% of being recovered alive* .
(* The avarage probability of being recovered alive with a transceiver over the
last ten years stands at only 20 % (data source: Eidg.
Institut für Schnee- und
Lawinenforschung, Weißfluhjoch/Davos,CH).
Every responsible person
should always carry appropriate devices to locate buried victims carrying only a
transceiver and not yet an
AVALANCHE BALL.
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Yes.
A wet snow avalanche has a higher density than powder snow, the
AVALANCHE BALL
will remain floating even better on the surface (experiment reults). Having said
this, the best way to stay safe is still risk avoidance. Especially wet snow
avalanches are known to be triggered by certain circumstances: wet snow avlanche
hazard increases in the course of the day due to increasing temperatures and
solar radiation. After cloudy nights, even mornings can be critical due to
unsufficient cooling of the snow cover during the night.
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No.
Most avalanches are triggered on treeless slopes. The
AVALANCHE BALL
is much lighter than a buried person and remains always floating in front of the
victim. In the event that the
AVALANCHE BALL
should pass in the course of an accident on the left side of a tree while the
victim passes on its right side, the light balloon will be drawn around the back
of the tree without any problems. (experiment results).
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Mechanically.
To say it in the words of a renowned sports magazine: "In our complicated
hi-tech world, this system is painfully simple."
It was a major aim of the developers, to find the most simple of all possible
solutions, without employing complicated technology, batteries or gas
cartridges. The system had to be lightweight, unexpensive and easy to check and
test without further costs.
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In the past, most of all entirely
buried persons have been recovered in time due to visible clues*!
With the AVALANCHE BALL,
visible clues are no longer a matter of lucky chance. Helpers are led
immediately and directely to the spot. No electronical equipment is needed to
identify entirely buried avalanche victims immediately, which increases their
chance of survival several times over. The
AVALANCHE BALL
is definitely a "visible improvement" of alpine saftey.
If an avalanche victim is recovered within 15 minutes, chances of survival stand
at 93% - meaning 9 of 10 persons. (*data source: Eidg.
Institut für Schnee- und
Lawinenforschung, Weissfluhjoch/Davos,CH).
An avalanche experiment
monitored by University Innsbruck in Tyrol showed, that it took 2 helpers less
then 3 minutes to locate and recover 3 entirely buried dummies (25 cms, 40 cms
and 50 cms) with the
AVALANCHE BALL!
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Since winter 2000/01
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Yes.
The AVALANCHE BALL
comes with a system bag especially designed to fit onto all current backpacks.
The rope connection leads to a waistbelt, to make sure that the balloon stays
connected to the user even if the backpack should be lost in the avalanche.
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Dipl. Ing. Christian Damisch is the
autor of an avalanche manual called 'Lawinenhandbuch' (editor: Province of
Tyrol).
He says that:
"Burial depth has low influence on the chances of survival. The lapse of time
until recovery is tightly connected to a higher risk. Research shows
dramatically the importance of fast identification and recovery of entirely
buried avalanche victims for their survival. The fastest possible recovery can
only be granted by friends and helpers on the spot."
Dr. med. Walter Phleps of IKAR – Commission for alpine emergency medicine.
"The chances of survival of an valanche victim depend essentially on burial
time. Until 15 minutes after burial, chances are at around 92%, the rest of the
buried victims within this lapse of time die due to injuries. The basis of this
research ist a statistical validation of the data of accidents with 422 entirely
buried persons."
As there are no reliable means to avoid burial, fast recovery is the most
important factor to save the lives of avalanche victims.
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