A new medical study simulated an avalanche in the Italian Alps, demonstrating the life-saving power of a new portable fan system.
The Safeback SBX device weighs 18 ounces, fits into a backpack or vest, and draws oxygen from snowpack’s natural porosity to extend survival. While other safety tools—like emergency beacons and airbags—can make it easier to find someone in an avalanche, the Safeback SBX extends the time a person can survive while waiting for rescue.
“This is the biggest innovation in avalanche safety devices in 25 years.”
In a recent study in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), the Safeback SBX helped buried victims breathe under the snow for at least 35 minutes. That’s a critically important window. Roughly two thirds of people asphyxiate within 30 minutes of avalanche burial.
“This is the biggest innovation in avalanche safety devices in 25 years,” said Giacomo Strapazzon, an adjunct professor of emergency medicine at the Università degli Studi di Padova and lead author of the study.
Simulating an Avalanche
Strapazzon led the study for the Institute of Mountain Emergency Medicine at the private research center Eurac Research. While the makers of Safeback SBX proposed the study, the research team maintained independence.
To study the efficacy of the device, researchers first needed to bury willing victims. They put out a call for volunteers, screening potential participants for claustrophobia before bringing them to the mountains. They recruited 36 participants, ultimately using 12 men and 12 women, a gender balance celebrated in a separate JAMA editorial for addressing the “severe underrepresentation of females” in high-altitude physiology tests.
The test took place in a mountain pass, 2,000 meters above sea level in the Dolomite range in northeastern Italy. Participants were buried face down under 50 centimeters of high-density snow (500 kilograms per cubic meter) while wearing a Safeback SBX.
In an avalanche, the main cause of death is asphyxiation from lack of oxygen. But snow is naturally porous, up to 67% air even at a density of 300 kilograms per cubic meter. The Safeback SBX uses a large fan to suck oxygen-rich air from the snow behind a victim. It delivers up to 150 liters of air per minute toward the user’s face via shoulder strap tubes. The device works with the company’s backpacks and vests and can be activated before entering avalanche terrains. The equipment is cold weather tested, with a battery lasting at least 60 minutes even at −30°C.
During the test, half the participants received a functioning device that switched off after 35 minutes. The other half received a sham device. Participants were buried one at a time, while a gang of puffy-coat-clad medical professionals monitored their vital statistics from the surface.
The Safeback SBX successfully extended survival time. Of the 12 participants buried with a sham device, only one lasted 35 minutes. Seven had to be rescued after their pulse oximetry, or the level of oxygen in the blood, dipped below the study threshold of 80%. The other four requested an early rescue by radio. Average burial time was 6.4 minutes under the snow.
Of the 12 people buried with a functioning device, 11 lasted the full 35 minutes. Only one requested an early rescue. When the functioning devices were switched off after 35 minutes, participants lasted an average of 7.2 minutes. Five requested rescue, and six required it after their pulse oximetry dropped below 80%.
Winter Work
The device could be valuable for anyone who works and recreates in avalanche terrain, including Earth scientists.
Peter Veals is an atmospheric scientist at the University of Utah. His lab group deploys atmospheric gauges in the Wasatch Mountains each year before the snow falls. But winters are long, and equipment needs maintenance. His team may ski 30 minutes over 4.5 meters (15 feet) of snow to knock icicles off a heated radar dish before a storm starts.
His lab group uses a detailed safety plan, but it’s difficult to avoid avalanche terrain completely, he said. By extending the rescue time, the Safeback SBX has clear value in the mountains.
“Those are some brave volunteers.”
“There’s probably a lot of people that get there a minute too late,” Veals said of avalanche rescues. “Extending [survival time] by 20 minutes plus is a huge deal.”
Other factors affect survivability. People in an avalanche may strike a tree or boulder. Deeper, denser snow would delay a rescue. Preventive measures like avalanche training and education are still essential.
“All those factors mean this isn’t a silver bullet, but I think it is still a huge step forward,” Veals said of the device.
The study did a great job mimicking the conditions of an avalanche, he noted.
“I thought it was as applicable as you could get to the actual situation,” Veals said. “Those are some brave volunteers.”
—J. Besl (@jbesl.bsky.social), Science Writer