Snurf

Lets recap:
Avy bags
Avalung
Euthanasia kit
Drugs
Blowtorch
Cell phone


Have I missed anything?

A whistle and a knife make some sense, sure, but as to the rest I'll paraphrase Major Kong in Dr. Strangelove "Shoot with all that shit, a feller could have a pretty good weekend in Vegas"

I think I'd rather keep it simple and just stay out of the tree wells.

[edit] -it goes without saying, never, ever ride alone in areas/conditions where falling in a tree well is even a slight possibility.

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ShredLife

i don't know if you are an idiot or not, but that is a pretty bad idea

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The111

I am wide open to hearing it's a bad idea, but I'd rather hear why it's a bad idea. All I can think of is the concern of lighting yourself on fire, but I'm not sure that's valid or not, with a flame you can point away from yourself, and being surrounded by snow moreover. But I'll gladly hear if I'm wrong.

EDIT: I guess the flame might steal your air also.

Snurf

Okay, I'll bite. How the hell would you get a blowtorch out of a backpack and light it when you are stuck, maybe upside down, in a treewell?

And what would you do with it assuming you could get it lit?

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The111

Well, in my hypothetical scenario, which even I obviously have my doubts about, I guess you'd carry it somewhere more accessible (maybe in a belly pouch?) and what you'd do with it, assuming you were able to carve out a pocket in front of your face that you could see, breathe, and move your arms in (but make no further progress to getting unstuck), you'd point the fiery end away from your face and press the on button (again, no idea how a blowtorch works ). Obviously a lot of ifs, I'm just wondering if in the right situation where all those ifs lined up, it would even be a feasible scenario.

Probably whatever snow you'd melt away would just be replaced from above... so the only way it would work is if you kept on melting until there was no more coming in... probably a pipe dream.

WasatchMan

Do blowtorches release any sort of gasses or anything? If so, it probably would not be very good to release all that in a very small enclosed area

ShredLife

1. just plain stupid to ride with a blowtorch in your pocket. one big enough to make any kind of impact of melting enough of that snow would need at least a 10oz canister and something that big would have to go in a backpack and you'd never be able to get to it.

2. flame from a blowtorch requires oxygen. using up your available oxygen by trying to melt your way out is retarded. and yes, burning a propane flame generates carbon dioxide.

3. you could set yourself on fire, or at very least burn yourself/melt synthetic clothing onto yourself

4. blowtorches require external spark to light them, either from an open flame, electric piezo device, or a flint striker. good luck firing any of those up when you're packed in snow.

5. not sure about propane, but liquid isobutane stoves do not function well or sometimes at all at elevation, and in subzero temperatures.

6. it would take forever to make any significant progress when all the while you could have been digging yourself out or releasing your bindings (assuming you have enough mobility to extract and use a blowtorch)

its a fucking stupid idea

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Argo

How about one of this pistols that shoots a grappling hook out and the once it grabs something it pulls you out. Like batman! He'll yeah, I'm making one.... Lol

ShredLife

the best way to stay safe around treewells, or in any avy terrain is to:

1. ride with a partner and stay within sight of each other.

2. have a radio/cellphone. whistle.

3. remain conscious when you go under (helmet?)

4. avalung and beacon

5. know how to get out of your bindings without looking, while upside down, with limited mobility

6. know your terrain. know how to recognize this stuff. pay attention to the snow conditions and quality.

7. wear bright clothing.

i am sure there is more stuff, but a blowtorch ain't one of em

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cjcameron11

3 things i think that may hinder your idea even if you could get the blowtorch out and lit.

1 Flame needs oxygen so what little air around your face you may have even less by lighting a blowtorch.
2 Gas emissions, most likely carbon dioxide which will also speed up you suffocation.
3 assuming your blowtorch melts the snow around your face chances are you will be melting the snow into a death mask much faster than you would other wise.

Maybe what someone should invent is outerwear that has an constant GPS signal go out to your crew who also have a GPS tracker, what way there would be no worries finding you fast, its just the digging out you have to worry about, ohh that and also getting thrown over rocks, into trees etc etc

Seems to me it would be much handier than a blowtorch

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