To Deploy an Avalanche Airbag in Water, or Not?

SEELEY LAKE - Avalanche instructor Mike Duffy of Eagle, Colo. had questions after reading about the two snowmobilers who died after unintentionally driving into open water on Seeley Lake last December. Because one of the victims was reported to have deployed his avalanche airbag, Duffy asked, should a snowmobiler deploy an avalanche airbag if they end up in open water on a sinking snowmobile? Will it float someone face up or down?

Duffy heard about the accident after it was posted on a SnoWest forum. Being a snowmobile-specific avalanche instructor, Duffy is involved with product testing and development, offering design suggestions at Backcountry Access (BCA). He had not considered the safety implications should an avalanche air bag be used in water.

Avalanche airbags were developed in the 1980s by ABS. All airbags are designed to help "float" the user in the snow should they be caught in an avalanche. If someone feels the snow break loose beneath them, they must pull the activation handle to inflate the airbag. If caught in the moving snow, the airbag works on the principal of inverse segregation, when in motion, larger objects always move to the top.

"If you increase your volume, you decrease your density and float to the top," said Duffy.

Various models offer different designs to protect the body from trauma and life-threatening injuries as well as offer different maneuverability once inflated.

Duffy said ABS airbags keep statistics of those caught in an avalanche. He said they report a 98 percent chance that something will be visible if the airbag was deployed and 97.3 percent survival rate if deployed.

"They must pull the handle for the airbag to be effective," said Duffy. "It's a big mistake to think you can outrun an avalanche."

With all the testing done using dummies and information collected from users who had been caught in an avalanche, no company had tested how the airbags would function in water.

David Hanak, Service Technician for North America with ABS Avalanche Airbag, and Dana Cowley, Technical Service with Backcountry Access Inc. (BCA), agreed. They both said that the float systems were not designed for floatation in water, only to float someone in snow. All avalanche airbags on the market use ambient air pulled in through a one-way valve, creating a venturi effect. Air from the surrounding area is sucked in helping to fill the bags. If the bag was inflated in water, it would not inflate properly or fill with water.

Despite this, the "what if?" continued to nag Duffy. Because the fatality in Seeley Lake was the first situation that he was aware of that a snowmobiler inflated their avalanche airbag when going into water, it is a safety issue that demanded investigation.

Duffy borrowed a friend's pool and tested four different airbags with three different designs. He wore a t-shirt and shorts for the tests and the tests were done at the end of August. All airbags were inflated before he jumped into the pool.

Duffy recognized that all the packs have pros and cons related to how they function in an avalanche. Someone interested in purchasing a pack should fully research each design to best match their expectations and use for the pack. However, for the water test, Duffy strove to remain unbiased and asked three questions of each airbag tested:

• What position does the pack float the user in – face up or face down?

• How easy is it to swim with the airbags inflated?

• How easy is it to release the waist belt, leg strap and sternum strap or zipper and remove the pack and will it work as a floatation aid?

The first pack Duffy tested was the ABS Vario dual airbag system. Two air bags open the length of the user's back, putting them in a superman position in the snow.

This pack floated Duffy face down. Although he could swim with it, it was the hardest of the four since he was face down. Duffy had to hold his breath for a few seconds while unclipping the straps. He recommends being very familiar with how the clasps work on this pack. However, once the buckles were undone, the pack came off easily. It was stable and was easy to climb on top of it.

The next pack Duffy tested was the SnowPulse Highmark. Once inflated, this airbag wraps around the users head and neck to help protect them from trauma, the cause of 25-30 percent of all avalanche related deaths.

This pack floated Duffy face up in the water. He said it was awkward to swim with because he had to swing his arms around the airbag. It was easy to remove and easy to use as a floatation aid.

The third pack Duffy tested was the BCA Float 22. The airbag is like a large pillow on the users back that extends above the head and down to mid back.

This airbag floated Duffy face up as if he was treading water. It was easy to swim with since the airbag was not in the way of his arms and his head was up. Although he did not time how long it took him to swim the length of the pool, he felt like he could swim faster with this design. It was easily removed and worked well as a floatation aid.

Duffy's final test was with the BCA Float MtnPro Vest, new for 2016. This produced the same results as BCA Float 22 but was easier to remove since the leg strap unclips.

While Duffy agrees that none of the packs he tested were designed as water floatation devices, and they never should be intentionally used for that purpose, he would inflate his before entering the water if he ever found himself in a situation where his sled was sinking in water.

If Duffy were wearing an ABS airbag, he would inflate the airbag before entering the water and be ready and able to remove the pack as quickly as possible. This would involve removing and stashing his gloves so he could quickly remove the clips and then put his gloves back on. He would then climb on top of the airbag to get out of the water as quickly as possible to attempt to avoid hypothermia.

If he were wearing any of the other three packs he would deploy the airbag before entering the water and try to swim with it for as long as he could before removing it and climbing on top of it.

"The key thing to survival is you need to get out of the water [by swimming to shore or the edge of the ice or getting on top of the airbag]," said Duffy.

Duffy does not feel the results of his tests would have been much different if he would have performed the tests in cold water and/or in full snowmobile gear. After working in search and rescue for more than 25 years, he feels strongly that someone that goes into cold water must do everything they can to rescue themselves.

"After reading about the accident and asking the question should you pull the cord, I would say yes," said Duffy. "Although the manufacturers never intended it for the water and it is not meant to replace a personal floatation aid, I would pull the cord because it helps me float, I can get on top of it and it makes me more visible to rescuers. Just make sure to pull before you sink, get ready to take the pack off and get yourself out."

Duffy continued, "My whole objective is to educate people. These are just some quick recommendations from what I found from four different tests. More research needs to be done."

Duffy reminds riders that snowmobiles have reportedly travelled several miles across open water as long as they stay on the throttle. He recommends riders know where they are going at all times and if they ride near or around open water often, to practice riding over shallow water to see how the sled reacts.

The videos of Duffy's tests are available on the Avalanche1 Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/Avalanche1-133828716323/timeline/?ref=br_tf).