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Same here MB!

 

Originally Posted By: Tex
Excuse my ignorance, are there many severe tree wells in Niseko area? Nearly died in one in Canada myself some years back, scary stuff.

 

I wouldn't say there aren't any, but since there are primarily deciduous trees at Niseko instead of coniferous trees, there should be significantly less of a problem with tree wells. Just stay well clear of any pine trees and you should be safe... at least from tree wells - there are other dangers out there too.

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MB, Ezorisu... I did the same thing first time I saw it so thought I would torment others as well smile

 

Ezorisu... yep thanks! thought as much just was not sure. Still just thought I would ask. My episode in Canada lives with me this day... bad bad stuff you do not think will happen to you, even now I feel very lucky clap dance

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I certainly felt a tad panicked the first time I tanked face first in thigh deep POW under the Gondola at the big N on a first tracks run. Took me about 10 minutes to right myself and get moving again....hope I am better than THAT this time around.

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  • 2 weeks later...
Originally Posted By: Ezorisu
I wouldn't say there aren't any, but since there are primarily deciduous trees at Niseko instead of coniferous trees, there should be significantly less of a problem with tree wells. Just stay well clear of any pine trees and you should be safe... at least from tree wells - there are other dangers out there too.

There certainly are. I still feel sick when I recall the minute or so that I spent trying to undo my bindings a metre below the surface standing on bare grass in a huge crack in Furano that was hidden after a huge drifty dump.
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Originally Posted By: SerreChe
For those interested, Voile will be putting on the market some releasable bindings from January 2010. Rip cord is attached to each binding.


I have heard about this...more for backcountry riding right? So that big mountain boarders are no longer breaking their legs?

I may be off though.
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@ Jynxx, thanks. Not been posting much lately, but always happy to share when something interesting comes along. Being sick at home means I have more time to participate in the forum, :-).

 

@ MitchPee, yes that's exactly it, for BC riding, and means people will not break legs or have their knees bend the wrong way around. It means if an avy is coming down on you you are supposed to be able to pull on the cords and release from the board. I am not sure how good or practical it is, we will find out more once people start testing them out. It seems some people are (rightly) questioning the fact that you have to pull one handle per binding. One handle would be better than two, but beats having no set-up available at all. Previously people had some DIY set-ups.

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Hope the illness is short lived SerreChe!

 

It will be interesting to see how effective in real life. Suppose it is similar to the Avalung question (can you get it to your mouth in time, or even at all..).

 

But how good is it to have OPTIONS. I think that is what it is all about - choice, and options to suit everyone.

 

One question I have.

Ski's have bindings that release but also have a braking system so they don't end up flying off down the hill causing injury or getting lost. Would these also have some system to stop runaway snowboards? Or is it envisaged that the only time they would need to be used the point of safety for others is fairly mute?

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MB thks. There are no breaks that I know of for boarders. People tend to use a leash on-piste to avoid their board flying downhill outta control, but ppl tend to not use those in the BC as they do not want to be tethered to their board. That is the only system I know of.

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Thanks SerreChe.

 

I suppose if it was mid-avalanche the ski's would be hurtling through the snowpack as well anyway - not like they are gonna stop neatly where they were jettisoned. And people are not likely to use any emergency release mechanism on a groomer are they...well - you would hope not! lol

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Had a look on the Voile site. This is something I never thought of and it makes sense to have them on all bindings. I wonder if it's a patented system. I want to have a look at the actual product.

What's on my thought is:

1) If having a board on your leg is going to drag you under, wouldn't that happen to a similar extent if the board is still on one leg?

2) Won't you have a worse chance of breaking your leg under that circumstance?

3) To how much effect will a snowboard have regarding to this "drag under" while you have an airbag system inflating ?

4) It will be difficult to, inflate airbag, get avalung in your mouth, release board - and in which order !?

 

Any thoughts?

 

I have been thinking splitboards, and I like the Voile system better (from the way it looks) for simplicity compared to the Atomic splitboards, although it will be more expensive to have Voile + other board manufactures combo. I haven't thought about the releasable detail. Very interesting.

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1) one leg still attached is prolly not great either, may even increase the risk of your lower leg windmilling around your knee joint. The idea is to pull on both handles, but releasing one only could be trouble.

2) I am not sure tbh. That is why in general people would prefer one handle to release both bindings at the same time instead of 2 handles.

3) The airbag should keep you on top, even if your board/skis are still attached. It is supposed to be one of the most effective system to keep you alive in an avy.

4)That is a very good point. I always wondered the same. Hard choice. If you have time I would say board then avalung then airbag, if no time, I would prolly just do the airbag (90+% survival rate when deployed). The airbag deployment would probably make achieving any other task very difficult due to its bulk/volume.

 

There are now 2 types of airbags out there. I know the old one had the tendency to push people's face down into the snow even though they were at the surface which could also potentially suffocate them. In this case avalung + airbag would have been nice. I think the new type of airbag is now better designed (offers more protection for the neck, uses compressed air, etc…) but not sure.

 

If I had a choice between releaseable bindings, airbag & avalung, I would probably buy the airbag, but it is not available in Japan.

 

As for splitboards, Voile is currently the standard. If you go with another manufacturer’s standard, you will have less choices down the road.

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  • 2 years later...

Just got myself an Avalung II Sling. I cannot stomach the thought of being buried alive and suffocating. I think that if you can breath then you can at least keep calm. Like scuba diving, when water snorts up your nose, as long as you can still breath through your mouth, you can calm down and refocus....

 

Love to have an airbag but high cost and having to mess around with travelling with cannisters is a bit of a turn-off...at this point in time.

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I was at the Freeride World Tour event in Chamonix this week. They had a great display of the newest airbags in backpacks both ready to roll and deployed. Looked like they would do the job, that is for sure. If I was riding the kind of incredible lines that those dudes manage I would want to be having one strapped to my back - that's for sure!

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At the moment, the canisters are either refillable, or exchanged.

Gas content is either air, nitrogen or CO2.

Air is the way to go because you have extra air to breath in the event of being buried.

But Travel regulations are different from continent to continent For example, regulated gas pressure is different from USA, Canada, Europe.

Even the type of Gas (as above) allowed is differrent. This is the air travel thingy...

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