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“Addictions can be very, very bad but addiction itself is not bad.
It’s a case of what you’re addicted to.
You better live each day like it’s your last, ‘cos one day you’re going to be right”.
Ray Charles.
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A phobia is an abnormal and persistent fear of something.
Taphephobia is the abnormal and persistent fear of being buried alive.
While only a small number of people might truly have Taphephobia, it’s fair to say that to be fearful of being buried alive is a global archetype that pretty well everyone shares.
The video at the bottom of the page is extremely moving, very upsetting and which fortunately does not end in tragedy but is the stuff to bring on more than a touch of Taphephobia.
Everyone who views the clip can relate to what Chris Cardello felt when he was caught in the avalanche and the purpose of having the video here is certainly not to provoke any perverse voyeuristic thrill but rather to highlight how the right equipment, the right team and the right training can mitigate against disaster.
Maybe a little background first to put it into context …..
What happens:
When an avalanche occurs, the snow particles begin to rub against each other in a highly chaotic manner that results in the temperature of the outside of the particles increasing and the porous space between the particles increasing in size fractionally.
While the avalanche is moving, the exterior of the snow particles become microscopically “softer” but when the avalanche stops, the heat generated from the particles in motion is drawn away due to the core of the particles remaining frozen.
When this occurs, it transforms what was softened through motion, to a significantly more solid substance because these particles have frozen to the surrounding ones.
This is why the analogy of the snow being like “concrete” is an accurate one and it’s at this point that time plays such a vital part.
Put simply, if someone is not dug out, they will die and often not from injuries but simply because the snow around their face becomes a hardened and icy because of their breathing.
And because of the snow around their face, a fresh oxygen supply is eliminated, so that the person ends up only breathing their own recycled air, which gets more and more laden with cO2, which leads to unconsciousness and then death.
There are multiple other factors that affect the survivable time period but broadly between 15 to 30 minutes is considered about the maximum likely time without rescue and it is usually unaffected by any additional technology the victim may be using. Therefore the crux factor is time; someone must be found and dug out very quickly.
What happened:
In April 2008, Chris Cardello, who was an experienced off-piste skier, was on a heli-sking trip near Haines, Alaska. He was with a group being guided by professional guides, he was wearing a Black Diamond AvaLung and also a helmet cam.
The function of the Avalung is to allow the buried skier to continue to breathe from air that is drawn from the surrounding snow but also crucially, the device re-directs the expelled cO2 laden air away from the fresh air intake area. And the purpose is to buy the victim more time to have rescuers find them and dig them out.
Chris was the first member of the group to go and you can plainly hear him still speaking at the start of the run, meaning he didn’t have the Avalung mouth-piece in at that stage but when he realises what’s happening, he tries to insert it but ends up not totally being successful in doing so.
It all happens super quickly and it all begins at the top of the run; he only manages a couple of turns and then it’s got him and proceeds to take him around 400 metres in less that half a minute.
It seems absurd to use the word fortunate in the context of this event but he was very fortunate that he didn’t break any bones in the descent or hit anything along the way but when the slide finishes, then the snow immediately solidifies and what happens next is up to his rescuers.
And at this point, his orientation could be any direction; feet to the sky, in a contorted ball …. absolutely any direction but again he’s fortunate that his direction ends up as good as it gets. And the final bit of good luck at this stage is that towards the end of his descent one of his gloves was ripped off near where he stopped, remained on the surface and was visible to the rescuers.
As soon as the avalanche stops, you can hear his rate of breathing begin to increase, the fabric of his jacket rubbing against the snow as he breathes and his incredibly poignant whimpers as he tries to inhale more air.
Chris was only buried for 4 and a half minutes, which when you view the clip, seems a very long time but is in fact an extraordinarily short period in terms of avalanche rescues. And while emotionally it’s about as bad as it gets, on a practical level it’s actually as good as anyone could hope for in this scenario.
Sobering stuff but it’s hard to imagine there is any better way to highlight why avalanche prediction/rescue and first aid training, the right partners, the right gear and a guide, will increase the odds in your favour. And a fair bit of luck too …..
PS. Some useful links below and one to an additional interesting piece of kit, the ABS backpack.
- A rescuer digs out 21-year-old Cedric Genoud in this handout picture at an avalanche site in Evolene February 7, 2010. Genoud was buried under an avalanche when he was doing off-piste ski in the Swiss alpine resort of Evolene.
- The BD AvaLung that Cedric was using.
Avalanche training and resources: