DEEN
Experience

From real avalanche accidents

Over the past 20 years, 40 avalanche accidents involving an Avalanche Ball were reported to us.

40
reported accidents

with Avalanche Ball in 20 years

87.5%
not or only partly buried

35 of 40 people

5
fully buried

all recovered by companions within minutes, all survived

Where these figures come fromThe figures are based on reports from users to us. They are not an independent study. Even without equipment, many people caught stay on the surface: according to SLF winter reports 1970 to 2003, this applied to about 80% of 2,472 skiers and snowboarders caught.
Accident report

"I felt someone pulling on the line"

A buried skier reports: "First a small slab came down and I released the avalanche ball immediately. When the avalanche stopped, only my head was sticking out. Suddenly more snow came and everything went dark. I was stuck as if in concrete, but quite calm, because I thought the avalanche ball is on top, they will find me soon. Suddenly I felt someone pulling on the line. Then everything happened very fast."

She was buried 70 cm deep. Her companions wrote in the accident report: "All transceivers were working and switched on. But the decisive time was gained through the avalanche ball."

Excerpt from the accident report by E. Müller, deputy head of Mountain Rescue Salzburg

Avalanche slope, a small red dot circled at the bottom: the Avalanche Ball
Example: the ball can be seen even from far away (circled in red).
In an emergency

See, pull, dig

In trials and in practice, the ball always lay clearly visible downhill of the buried person. Most of the line stays on the surface; the rest can be pulled even from densely packed snow thanks to its 4 mm diameter. Close to the person, the line works like a probe.

Red ball lying on the avalanche surface
1. SeeThe red ball is visible from far away.
Rescuer walking to the red ball
2. PullFollow the line until it goes straight down into the snow.
Rescuer digging with a shovel right at the line
3. DigRight in the correct spot, without a search device.
Person dug out, next to the red ball and ski poles
Original photo of an accident at the Schöntalspitze, Kühtai: the buried person was rescued from about 70 cm in 3 minutes.
From practice drills

1.5 m deep, found fast

In a mountain rescue drill, a dummy lay 1.5 m deep. In an avalanche trial in Davos, a dummy was buried up to 150 cm deep. The ball stayed visible and, according to the report, recovery was complete after 5 minutes.

What matters is that nobody has to search. Companions see the ball, follow the line and start digging in the right place straight away.

Person pulling the line to the red ball in the snow
Follow the line instead of searching
Skier on a steep slope, the red ball on its line behind him
Released ball on a slope
Videos

Documented

Documented avalanche accidentsWatch on YouTube
Avalanche trial Davos: ball stays visible in a follow-up avalancheWatch on YouTube

Videos load only after you click. Data is then sent to YouTube. Some videos are in German.