We asked a simple but unsettling question: What if avalanche survival timelines weren’t fixed – and what if we could give buried victims more time to live?

As a group of engineers looking at the snow safety space, we saw a lot of great work being done. In recent decades, huge strides have been made in avalanche safety – from education and planning tools that help people avoid danger, to user-friendliness improvements in preventative tools, to innovations in rescue equipment and techniques that reduce dig times.

Yet since 1998, not a single new product has been introduced with the primary purpose of keeping buried victims alive for longer – even though asphyxia on a 10-to-30-minute timeline remains the main cause of death in avalanche accidents (Rauch, Brugger & Falk, 2024).

In 2017, we began conceptualizing solutions that eventually became SBX. We believed the snowpack itself held the key. The same properties that trap exhaled air around the face also store fresh air in other areas of the snowpack. If we could transport the fresh air with a simple, durable pump, victims could keep breathing with safe oxygen and CO₂ levels during avalanche burial – dramatically extending survival time.

Proving this wouldn’t be easy. For five years, we prototyped, tested, refined, and tested again. Until we had something real.

As new players in the snow safety space, we knew we couldn’t challenge decades of avalanche survival science alone. To carry real weight, we needed well-respected experts in the field to put SBX to the test, without our involvement.

That’s when we reached out to Eurac Research. With no trials or publications clearly confirming our concept, Eurac was intrigued. They began organizing an independent study to explore SBX’s ability to extend the avalanche survival window.

In their 2023 study, 24 volunteers were buried in avalanche snow using our device in a rigorous experiment. Research and publication take time, and we’re deeply grateful to the research team for securing independent funds and dedicating years to this work.

To those of you who have been patiently (or impatiently) waiting since 2023 when the SBX burial trial was announced: we are thrilled to share the peer-reviewed results of this study as a baseline for our understanding of SBX’s positive effect for buried victims.

Safeback was founded with a goal-zero vision: a world without avalanche fatalities.

SBX is a critical step toward that future—not a miracle device, but a vital last line of defense. By supplying burial victims with a continuous supply of fresh air, SBX helps buried victims stay alive longer, giving rescuers more time to reach them alive.

We know survival depends on more than one tool. That’s why SBX stands alongside continued education, advanced prevention methods, and cutting-edge rescue technologies. Together, these efforts bring us closer than ever to our vision.