The Many Moods of Skiing is a vintage ski film created by Australian Alpine Films back in 1963. The last segment of this video (starting at the 6:49 mark) shows skiers attaching helium balloons to their waists for avalanche ‘safety’.
The video is also chalk-full of vintage skiing gold. Watch the full thing to get a dose of some long hickory boards, tight parallel form, tandem skiing, and hilarious costumes.
Skip ahead to the 6:45 mark of the video if you want to see the balloons in action.
Wearing a helium balloon around your waist so your buddies can dig you out of an avalanche is NOT an advisable safety precaution.
I hope that goes without saying…