Ultralight Avalanche Shovel Maker Gets In Hot Water With Pro Athletes
Earlier this year, a small, honest discussion erupted into a full-blown online argument between the maker of the PurePeak avalanche shovel, Matic Meza, and athletes Nikolai Schirmer and Cody Townsend. Schirmer and Townsend, perhaps two of the most respected and accomplished skiers in the industry right now, called out the fact that they had been sent the product (an ultralight carbon fiber avalanche shovel) for testing on an expedition to Alaska, and managed to both break theirs on the trip using it under normal use.
Both had posted videos showing the broken shovels, which I have been unable to find again online. Schirmer broke his digging out a cornice to enter a steep ski line, while Townsend broke his while chopping snow blocks around camp. In both cases, it looked that the shovel blade cracked near the metal edge, a small, but potentially catastrophic failure.
I received a production version of this shovel and reviewed it on POWDER last winter. While I was impressed by it, I was also somewhat hesitant about potential breakage. I was unable to replicate any of the catastrophic failures Schirmer or Townsend say their experienced, but did manage to chip the carbon around the metal edge by slamming the shovel onto my concrete garage floor a few times. In the case of an avalanche rescue, snow in a debris pile does set up quickly, but it’s unlikely that the shovel would subjected to that kind of extreme blunt-force stress. In my case, the shovel was still usable. I repeated the same test with an aluminum avalanche shovel I had in the garage, and the metal blade edge bent in a similar fashion.
I agree with all the commenters pointing out the fact that the mild weight savings from using this product don’t necessarily outweigh the risks of having a potentially useless lifesaving tool in a real emergency. Like any safety tool, it’s up to the user to educate themselves on proper functionality and gear limitations and decide what their own risk tolerance is (and, more importantly, communicate that with their partners). As both Searle and Smiley point out, it’s a very niche product that makes sense in a very narrow window of realistic use cases, and shouldn’t be bought as a complete replacement for an everyday-use avalanche shovel.
The online debate re-erupted after IFMGA mountain guide Mark Smiley posted a video about the new shovel on his own Instagram channel, where Townsend, Schirmer, and Chamonix-based IFMGA Guide and athlete Dave Searle chimed into the comments with their own experiences. The athletes shared their concerns about the shovels breaking (Searle’s snapped while he stress tested it in his garage), and Meza responded defending his product, and pointing out the fact that the athletes broke prototype versions of the product. Schirmer then continued calling out the designer for his response at the time the product initially broke in the field. The exchange, and further comments from dozens of users, can be read on the comments of Smiley’s post.
Following the online exchange, Meza emailed POWDER to provide the brand’s official statement on the matter, which is shared below:
PurePeak statement on the Instagram discussion, production process and product safety
At PurePeak we would like to address the recent discussion on Instagram concerning our avalanche shovels, following comments by Cody Townsend and Nikolai Schirmer about reported shovel failures. We are committed to developing and producing reliable equipment for mountain environments, and we take feedback and reports concerning our products seriously. We would therefore like to clarify the timeline, production process and applicable safety standards.
Product testing and timeline explanation
During the initial production phase, PurePeak manufactured three shovels using prototype moulds made from gelcoat and carbon-fibre laminate. Two were sent to Cody Townsend and Nikolai Schirmer and are the subject of the current discussion. Our records show that the shovels were shipped to Nikolai on 17 September 2024 and to Cody on 2 October 2024 — approximately two years before the Instagram discussion in October 2026, rather than one year as stated in one of the Instagram stories. Nikolai reported that his shovel broke while he was digging through a snow cornice. Although the public discussion included claims that a shovel broke on the first day or within the first one or two days of use, correspondence from January and April 2025 indicates that Nikolai had used his shovel throughout the season and that it had worked well for other tasks before the breakage. The exact number of days of use is not established by the available records.
Changes in regular production
For regular production, PurePeak switched to production-grade aluminium moulds, which allow the manufacturing process to operate at higher pressures. These process conditions can influence the quality of the finished product. However, the precise cause of the issues reported with the two prototype-mould units has not been established. Potential contributing factors could include mouldrelease agents, temperature, material, or human error, but none of these has been confirmed as the cause. PurePeak subsequently manufactured 500 shovels using the regular production process. According to our records, no comparable failures have been reported for these production units.
Product safety and UIAA Standard 156
Safety is central to the design and development of avalanche rescue equipment. PurePeak’s regular production shovel is certified to UIAA Standard 156 for Avalanche Rescue Shovels. This standard, developed by the UIAA (International Climbing and Mountaineering Federation), establishes safety requirements and testing methods for shovels intended for avalanche rescue and training. The certification is an important part of the product’s safety framework. It does not, however, remove the importance of taking reports of product failures seriously or assessing the circumstances of any reported incident.
We remain committed to maintaining the highest standards of quality and safety, and ensuring the satisfaction of our customers.
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