Winter backcountry travel and avalanche airbags: Assessing risk-taking in a field study

Avalanche airbags are a key innovation in avalanche safety, reducing burial depth and increasing survival rates. However, concerns remain about potential risk compensation, whereby users engage in riskier behavior due to perceived safety gains. Previous studies have explored this issue only in online scenarios. This field study investigated associations between airbag use and real-world risk-taking among groups of ski tourers ( n = 112) and freeriders (i.e., out-of-bounds skiers; n = 45). Groups were surveyed before and after their tours. Risk-taking was assessed by comparing the number of hazardous sites on intended and conducted routes, as well as observed behavior in these sites, against expert terrain analyses and recommendations. No evidence of increased risk-taking due to airbag use was found. Knowledge of airbag effectiveness and limitations was incomplete, and participants overestimated both avalanche mortality risk and the survival benefit of airbags by nearly twofold. Among ski tourers, airbag use was associated with greater experience and carrying additional safety equipment (i.e., helmets), whereas among freeriders, airbag use was associated with carrying standard emergency equipment. The proportion of ski tourers carrying airbags increased from avalanche danger level 1 to 2 and 3. Overall, airbag use was unrelated to risk-taking, risk propensity, or avalanche training. These findings suggest that airbag use is embedded within a group's broader risk culture rather than serving as a standalone influence on behavior. Accordingly, potential risk compensation effects may be shaped by a complex interaction of current avalanche conditions, terrain-specific risk propensity, avalanche awareness, and group risk culture.