Avalanches are a serious and palpable threat in mountain regions throughout the world; more people than I want to think about in my life have been affected directly or indirectly by them– most certainly a byproduct of where I’m from. A lot of research has been done with avalanches, and the studies have found that a vast majority of deaths occur not upon impact, but after burial. Swiss mountaineering gear maker Mammut took a step in the right direction with its Barryvox avalanche transponder this year. Not only does the Barryvox transmit a signal for the location of a buried individual, but it also displays pulse and respiratory data about the victim. In a situation where there are multiple people buried, a device like this makes it easier for rescuers to make the tough decision of who to rescue first. We’ve seen a lot of innovation in this field in recent years (e.g. the Avalung), and hats off to Mammut for continuing that trend.