Build My Own FeedSkier survives headfirst tree-well entrapment thanks to his AvaLung II sling
Pete Lev, a skier from Montana, sent us the following email titled “My AvaLung II saved my life!”, which, suffice it to say, definitely got our attention. Read Pete’s harrowing account below of skiing in-bounds and getting caught headfirst in a tree well—an overlooked snow-safety emergency situation that has caused several skier fatalities throughout North America this year—and how crucial the AvaLung II sling was in saving his life.
From: Pete Lev
Sent: Monday, January 10, 2011 10:23 AM
Subject: My Avalung II saved my life!
I am sending this to everyone I know who skis or boards. My hope is that it may save additional lives as it saved mine the other day.
So far this year, two people have died at the Big Mountain Ski area due to tree well entrapments. I was almost another victim last Friday January 7th, 2011.
The snow has been piling up and getting deep. So as I do every year, I started to wear my AvaLung. I also had my pack with probe, shovel, etc. and had my transceiver turned on. Some people I know don't wear their gear in-bounds and think these areas are safe since ski-area personnel control them. But you can become entrapped in a tree well In-bounds just as easily as you can skiing out-of-bounds.
My wife & I were skiing an open area on a run called Evans Heavan. It was very foggy and we had decided to make this our last run due to the poor visibility and the newly fallen deep wet snow was starting to set up. I caught an edge and flipped over into a tree well. I landed with my head upside-down and slid down into a hole underneath the tree branches.
I did not have my AvaLung in my mouth but it was poised in position directly in front of my mouth. The impact from the snow pushed the mouthpiece out of position and I could not bite onto it. My ski poles had separated from my hands but there was 2 feet of snow between my face and hands. Snow had compacted in front of my face. The impact from the fall had knocked the air out of my lungs and as my body instinctively gasped for air, I swallowed a fair amount of snow and choked as I attempted to push the snow away from my face and to locate my AvaLung mouth piece. I located it and shoved it into my mouth, inhaled and got more snow into my lungs. Fortunately when I exhaled the snow blew out through the AvaLung and I started to breathe though the device.
After a minute or so my breathing started to regulate and I calmed down. I dug and pushed away the snow that was covering my goggles and looked around. There was a small air pocket in front of me underneath one of the tree branches. I wiggled and pulled my head and upper body underneath the branch. I removed more snow that was covering my 2-way radio (strapped to my backpack cross chest strap) I removed the AvaLung mouthpiece and called on the two-way radio to my wife. She was only 50 feet from me and didn't know where I was. The thought of blowing the whistle that was in my chest pocket never came to mind, nor did using the siren feature on my radio. I guess even though you have all the gear, under stress, you may not use it properly in a panic situation.
My wife got the radio call and started to search for me. But she had not worn her transceiver that day. So she could not locate me. It was up to me to get myself out! Fortunately my skis were not too twisted up and were closer to the surface than the rest of me. I used the tree branches to pull myself toward the surface and kept punching a path upward. After a few minutes I had made a hole big enough to stick out my hand. My wife saw my waving hand and started to work her way uphill to help. The snow was deep and hard for her to step uphill. Before she made it to me I had managed to free myself. I was shaken and distraught. That night I had repeated nightmares of being trapped. It was a horrifying experience.
I am convinced that without that AvaLung II strapped on, I would not be writing this letter. Thank you to who ever invented that AvaLung and thank you Black Diamond for selling such a great piece of equipment. I soon plan on replacing the AvaLung II with one of the new AvaLung Packs.
I now ski with the AvaLung II's mouthpiece in my mouth whenever I am skiing in the trees or gladed areas, since I now know that if it isn't in your mouth, you might not be able locate it when you are disoriented. Here is a link to some additional tree well safety tips.
The article also gives you some great safety tips on how to ski with your partner or friends.
http://treewelldeepsnowsafety.com/
Again.... the AvaLung II saved my life. I will forever be grateful!
— Pete Lev,
Whitefish, MT
United States / English 
4 Dec 2011, 5:04PM
I agree, they are cheap when you can't breath... And 58 mins is quite a bit of time!
17 Jan 2011, 5:27PM
Skiing with the Ava lung in your mouth is easy. Took only a few days for me to get used to it. Either in trees or in bowls having to reach for it can lead to having to clear it or not getting it at all. As well I ski with an avi air bag also and pulling the cord while riding a slab that has broken and getting the ava lung in my mouth is very unlikely in some situations. In particular on steep terrain when it all happens way fast. Thanks for posting this story. Very insightful. Although I have only been in one small slide in 28 years of skiing its easy to appreciate the panic that comes with being pinned and needing air. Very spooky. The ava lung and now the airbags have made this sport for me way better. Thanks to the inventor and black diamond for selling them. LIfe savers big time.They are priced just right.
17 Jan 2011, 11:28AM
I just got the Black Diamond Bandit Pack which has the avalung integrated into it. It's a great pack and hopefully with my analanche saftey and training I'll never need to use it.
However, question: If you are trapped under a good amount of snow and assuming you have your mouthpiece on and the trauma didn't already kill you. How long does the avalung give you? If your completely buried air has to come from somewhere., How much extra time/air does the avalung provided assuming your are completely buried?
15 Jan 2011, 12:23PM
They are cheap when you can't breathe.
14 Jan 2011, 10:23PM
"If they just weren't so expensive..."
Really? ...your life isn't worth it? huh.
After this experience I bet Pete would pay triple for his.
14 Jan 2011, 10:22PM
Good to hear your story Pete. As I would ask ANYONE who bemoans the cost of a probe, shovel, transceiver, and avalung....how much is your life worth to you? Consider it part of the cost of doing business (recreating) in the back country! Over the last several years, I've made it a habit of always carrying my pack and wearing my transceiver when skiing, including at the resorts!
14 Jan 2011, 9:06PM
^they are not that expensive...only about one third the price of a beacon. Its thought provoking to hear this, I have lived in whitefish my whole life, and one of my friends was caught in a tree well, and was passed out when my other friends pulled him out. I might start wearing my avalung inbounds, it could be a good idea. Thanks a lot for the comments!
14 Jan 2011, 3:19PM
"If they just weren't so expensive...".......how much is your life worth?
14 Jan 2011, 2:46PM
The Avalung II is just a smaller more pack friendly version of the original Avalung. What you have in your pack is as up to date as they get. They haven't made a lot of changes (if any) since they were incorporated into the packs.
$125 isn't a lot of money for the level of insurance the Avalung II offers. Most of the equipment you carry is to help your friends in the event of an avalanche. This is only piece of equipment that can keep you alive longer after total burial so that your friends have more time to find you.
14 Jan 2011, 12:32PM
Wow! I had a similar experience a couple of years ago. My husband and I were visiting Big Mountain from Colorado, we used to live in Whitefish, and my board clipped a chopped tree trunk just under the surface of the snow. Luckily I slammed into a nearby tree feet first, but as I fell into a tree well, all of the snow on the tree fell onto the top of my head, burying me under the snow. My husband was only a turn or two in front of me, but continued on down to the lift. We had gone through the same trees a hundred times before, but this time we didn't meet at the bottom. After what seemed like forever, I got my arms free enough to pull on a branch to straighten my body and get my head out of the snow. After a half hour of trying to dig and push, a couple skied near me and I screamed for them. They hiked back up to me and saw my helmet on the surface of the snow. It was another 30 minutes until they could dig me out. I have backcountry gear, but never thought to bring it with me at a resort unless I was hiking. I am surely going to ski with my AvaLung in my mouth as extra protection.
14 Jan 2011, 12:00PM
Can you provide the tech specs, comparing the AVALUNG I and the II version???? what aer the changes made? I have an avalung incorporated in my BDEL pack, but I'm uncertaing of which version I have. Please explain.
Thanks!
PS: in Argentina, these are hard or imposible to get.
14 Jan 2011, 11:41AM
If they just weren't so expensive...