Avalanche

The SBX backpack system from Safeback is designed to pull and deliver oxygen from snow if the wearer is buried by an avalanche, thus increasing their survival time. A group of intrepid volunteers has now proven how well the system works.

One of the innovative young brands that really impressed during the recent ISPO Munich show, Advenate has several multipurpose tools for backcountry snow sports. The headliner is an avalanche shovel that includes a probe in its handle and a light, compact emergency shelter in its blade.

We've seen some interesting evolutions of established avalanche safety technologies over the years, but the latest product in the category brings more flash. Using pyrotechnics, the Resero XV system​ blows snowboard binding straps clean off at the pull of a wearable trigger.

A new smartphone app and add-on hardware component could provide an alternative to costly avalanche tranceivers that is not only cheaper than dedicated devices, but also provides additional functionality.

The smartphone is like the modern day, techy Swiss Army Knife. But it can't do everything. The Canadian Avalanche Centre says that avalanche rescue apps can not effectively replace dedicated avalanche beacons.

The UBAK Mountain Airbag Harness is one of the few avalanche airbags that protects from both suffocation and trauma.

The K2 Rescue Shovel Plus Ice Axe is a backcountry shovel built for a variety of winter emergencies and obstacles.

The North Face offers a vest with a built-in avalanche airbag system from German manufacturer ABS.

The Rotauf MK5 gives you one more tool for avalanche survival.

Avalanche airbags, designed to prevent burial in an avalanche by providing extra buoyancy, aren’t new but until now skiers have had to activate the bag themselv