Snow News

    BCA Avalanche Airbag Save Goes Viral

    They say a picture is worth a thousand words. In this case, a one-minute video is worth nearly 250,000 Youtube views for avalanche equipment manufacturer Backcountry Access (BCA).

    At an unsanctioned snowboard freeride contest in Colorado, competitor Meesh Hytner, was captured in a class 3 avalanche. She deployed her BCA Float 30 avalanche airbag and remained on the surface for the duration of the slide, escaping with no injuries.

    Videographer Tyler Malay was filming at the grassroots event, called the Coloradikal Backyard BBQ, and captured the entire incident. The resulting Youtube video has gone viral, gathering nearly 300,000 views as of Friday, Feb. 3.

    “Airbags are just now gaining acceptance among North American skiers and snowboarders,” said BCA marketing VPt Bruce Edgerly. “This video will help this technology reach the mainstream–and hopefully save more lives.” The company introduced two new models at the 2012 Outdoor Retailer Winter Market: the Float 22 and the Float 32. For more info, see http://www.backcountryaccess.com/airbag .