Stop swiming in an avalanche article

[quattro 1]

This is an interesting article it kid of goes against everything I was ever taught about swimming in an avalanche. It makes sense though. Anyway it's a good read.

 

avi artcle

[Kumapix 0]

nice one quattro

[slow 0]

interesting.

[keba 0]

Good find... still, I'm not sure that I'd have my wits about me enough if caught, to start doing the breaststoke anyway.

[dizzy 0]

interesting read but

 

is he making this statement to perhaps pump up his (new) avlanche consulting business? don't get me wrong, atkins is a patriarch of the american avalanche forecasting industry.

 

he is second to none in forecasting. but why is he saying this now, after decades in the industry?

 

yet, others have always said the same things: ball up or log roll or just concentrate on getting that air pocket (Bruce Trempter book)

[soubriquet 0]

What he is describing is correct for grain flows, but they typically entrain air as they travel, and evolve into debris flows.

 

Mike Leader writes this: "Grains within debris flows are supported by the strength of the matrix and by their own bouyancy within the matrix rather than by dispersive stress as in the grain flow case..".

 

That means density does become important, and a body would sink.

 

I've no idea about swimming or not, but maintaining some space in front of your face and chest sounds a very good idea to me.

[SerreChe 2]

The avalanche airbag works on the grain flow principle I think. Not sure about swimming or not, I guess your ability would depend on the velocity of the flow you are in.

[tsondaboy 0]

Also dont forget that an avalance in the spring has completly diferent properties than during the winter.

In the spring the snow is replete with water so it mooves more like a mudflow rather than a grainflow.

[jgraves 0]

Good article.

 

Pretty poor analogy though. The small light crumbs in my cereal sink to the bottom, sure, but so do the big heavy raisins.