查看完整版本 : Avalanche fatality
As reported in CHM (Canadian Mountain Holidays) website:
On 30th December 2011, there was an avalanche in the Selkirk Mountain Range, approximately 32 km South-east of the town of Revelstoke, B.C. on a run called Selkirk. The run is located in the Holyk Creek Drainage. The avalanche occurred with a group of 11 skiers, and one Certified Ski Guide. The group of skiers were the guests of CMH Revelstoke. Four people were caught in the avalanche with one fatality.
The avalanche on Selkirk was categorized as a size 2.5 on a 5 point scale. The fracture line of the avalanche occurred at an elevation of1850 metres on a slope with a SE aspect. The avalanche path was approximately 75 metres wide and ran for a distance of about 250 meters.
There were 4 people caught by the slide. Three of them were only partially buried and were able to get out quickly while the one victim was fully buried. A total of 8 CMH Mountain Guides, 2 Selkirk Tangiers Guides and the group of guests responded at the scene. A total of five helicopters were dispatched to the rescue.
The guest was located with his transceiver and was removed from the snow. Two physicians were on scene and attended to the victim. The victim was taken by helicopter and ambulance to Queen Victoria Hospital in Revelstoke where he was pronounced deceased.
It was reported that a teenager and a German couple have died after being buried in avalanches earlier this month. A 14-year-old boy died in hospital four days after being caught in a slab avalanche near Celerina in Switzerland's Engadine region. His friend, aged 13, who was partially buried, raised the alarm after freeing himself, on Thursday 29 December. The pair had been hiking up to the Fuorcla Gluna saddle, near the top of a chairlift at Marguns, at about 2,900m, according to Swiss police and press reports. Mountain rescue found the 14-year-old under 60cm of snow about an hour after he was buried and he was taken to Chur hospital in a critical condition.
In Austria, on 28 December, a Bavarian couple aged 44 and 50 were buried as they were getting ready to take off for a tandem paragliding flight on the Joechelspitz in the Reutte district, north-west of the Arlberg region. A slab avalanche slid onto them, at an altitude of 1,800m, and the pair were found dead under 3.5m of snow.
On 26 December, a family in Verbier were caught off-piste in an avalanche in Verbier on Mont Gele/Lac de Vaux and escaped with minor injuries.
A skier was killed last Friday morning while on an organized cat skiing outing when an avalanche swept down on him on Meadow Mountain, in the Kootenays north of Nelson, British Columbia. His group was descending the slope known as Ann’s Run one at a time when the avalanche struck. Avalanche risk was rated as moderate in the region on Friday by the Canadian Avalanche Centre.
The following day a skier was swept up in a second avalanche in the Kootenays on Saturday, and remains hospitalized with serious injuries. He was skiing with a companion on Saturday afternoon in the Hell Roaring area near Kimberley when the avalanche struck. His skiing companion was able to dig out the victim and go for help.
We had a huge one here in Hakuba too Mike. Sadly a fellow skier was lost. RIP. One of my friends was in the area just before it happened and was lucky not to be caught in a runout exit below.
Avalanche Involvement, Hakuba, January 28th, 2012
2 male Japanese skiers, 41 and 51 years of age, both were involved in a very large avalanche in the Hakuba side country, one buried and found dead, one survivor left to search.
On their third run off the South Faces outside of Hakuba Goryu ski resort boundaries the two men strayed skiers left of their intended run due to poor visibility. By the time they realised that they were off their intended course they turned back right and descended just into the top of the large south facing open bowl and at this point triggered the avalanche just after noon. The depth ranged from 1 to 2 metres in depth and the slide fractured the whole width of the bowl, reaching just over 500 metres maximum width. The avalanche, taking the 51 year old, ran down two separate drainages for a slope distance of 1500 metres, losing 620 metres of elevation. The debris washed 100 metres up the wall on the opposite side of the valley to finally rest against a dam in the valley bottom.
Due to the very poor visibility the survivor was not 100% sure where his partner was when the avalanche released, and thus unsure as to where he was carried. He proceeded to travel down-slope into the main skiers left drainage with his beacon on search, but he did not receive any signal. Making it all the way to the main debris, he met 3 others that had just descended through the treed slope skiers right of the slide. They were already in search mode as they were aware that the avalanche was recent, very large, and that there may have been someone buried in the debris. They met up with the survivor, one went for assistance, and the other two helped with the search. They were in the narrow run-out at the base of multiple starting zones with other riders descending. With a high probability of other avalanches being triggered on to them, they decided it was too dangerous to continue searching and returned to the base of the ski field.
The survivor continued to search until the authorities came and began an organised rescue effort. The victim was finally found dead, buried 5 metres deep, at approximately 1000 metres elevation in the skiers right hand drainage at 17:00 hours.
On field investigation of the fracture site on January 29th by members of ACT and Evergreen Outdoor Center it was found that the avalanche fractured and propagated within the faceted melt form layer between a melt freeze crust and the recent storm snow. The thaw crust formed on the 18th and 19th of January and buried on the 22nd of January was most pronounced on solar-affected aspects and has been found on slopes facing from east to west, up to at least 2200 metres. The slope angle in the start zone was an average of 40 degrees and convex in shape around rocks, trees and bushes. The avalanche is calculated to have a mass in excess of 50,000 tonnes and classified as a destructive size 3.5 and a size 5 relative to the path capability.
Snowpack Synopsis:
Recent storm snow ranging in depth from 1 to over 2 metres is heavily loading the thaw crust and weak, sugary textured, faceted snow grains. Clearing and stronger winds the morning of the 29th have created a wind slab over low density snow that is likely to facet and become weaker. Forecasted heavy snowfall early this week will continue to add greater load to the existing faceted weak layer and bury and load the wind slab of January 29th.
Travel Advisory:
Backcountry travel on slopes greater than 35 degrees on all aspects is not recommended. Choose small terrain with low consequences and practice strict travel procedures. With deep slabs and facets associated with melt forms, test results are often unreliable. Absence of avalanches should not be assumed to be an indicator of stability. Avalanches will be easier to trigger from thin tensioned areas close to bushes, rocks and trees. The present weak layer may persist for weeks to come and further loading may increase the probability of large slab avalanches.
If in doubt take the route of lowest risk. This may mean returning the way you came.
ALPINE ZONE: HIGH HAZARD !! Stronger winds, colder temperatures and greater snow fall are all contributing to very unstable conditions in Alpine and Tree Line Zones. Watch out for avalanches from ALPINE ZONES travelling to the valley and into TREELINE and BELOW TREELINE ZONES.
TREELINE ZONE: HIGH HAZARD !!
BELOW TREELINE: CONSIDERABLE HAZARD !
SEE MORE ON THE ACT SITE @ http://114.160.67.224/act/
New product from Backcountry Access (BCA):
http://www.epicski.com/t/109878/new-products-from-backcountry-access-bca#post_1426727
New product from Backcountry Access (BCA):
http://www.epicski.com/t/109878/new-products-from-backcountry-access-bca#post_1426727
http://www.hkssa.net/showthread.php?t=59949
Note: there is some hazzle if flying with "airbag". Check and register with the airline concerned before flying.
Dutch Prince Johan Friso (second son of Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands) has been seriously injured in an avalanche while on a skiing holiday in the Austrian resort of Lech.
Officials said he was buried under the snow for 20 minutes before being rescued. He was resuscitated at the scene and taken to hospital in Innsbruck. The Dutch government said he was stable but "not out of danger".
An off-duty Keystone ski patroller died in an avalanche last Thursday on Colorado's Wolf Creek Pass. The victim, who is believed originally from New Zealand or Australia, was skiing with two companions on a 40-degree slope in a popular backcountry skiing area near the top of the pass when the slide released. It was reported that although they were skiing the slope one at a time, the second skier triggered the slide, which broke above the third skier and sucked him into it. Two in the party were able to dig themselves out. One sustained a knee injury and the other was unharmed, while the skier who triggered the slide died at the scene.
The avalanche broke three feet deep, 600 feet wide and ran for about 600 vertical feet, according to the Colorado Avalanche Information Center (CIAC). The area had received approximately 30 inches of snowfall in recent days and the CIAC on Thursday morning had rated the avalanche danger in the area as “considerable.”
As reported in the CBC & BBC News today:
At least three people are said to have died after an avalanche near a ski resort at Cascade Mountain in Washington.
Rescuers were dispatched to an out-of-bounds area near Stevens Pass ski resort after reports around noon local time (20:00 GMT). The fatalities occurred in an out-of-bounds area near the resort. Initially it was reported that two people had died but later confirmed there were three deaths. Eight skiers declared missing were later accounted for.
The Northwest Weather and Avalanche Center warned of a high avalanche danger above 5,000 ft in the Stevens Pass area with a considerable danger at lower levels. The centre said there had been heavy snowfall over the last few days.
It was also reported that a snowboarder was killed on Sunday in a separate incident at the Alpental ski area east of Seattle. The snowboarder went over a cliff.
It's been a deadly winter in Washington's mountains. Four people disappeared in vicious storms while hiking and climbing on Mount Rainier last month.
Across the West, there had been 13 avalanche deaths this season as of 16th Feb., according to the Colorado Avalanche Information Center, which tracks avalanche deaths in the United States.
Avalanche deaths are more common in the backcountry than at ski resorts. Out of about 900 avalanche deaths across the U.S. since the 1950-1951 winter, 32 were within terrain that was open for riding at ski resorts, according to the Utah Avalanche Center.
In Austria, the highest levels of snow in 30 years meant several fatal avalanches in the last week has prompted Austrian officials to renew warnings to skiers to take extra care.
In many regions in the Alps the avalanche warning danger is at the top level and experts hired to check piste safety have been working round the clock to detonate unsafe snow fields.
The experts assess the danger and either warn people to keep away from risky areas or use controlled explosions to send the snow falling down into the valley.
The number of people caught up in avalanches continue to rise over the weekend although there were initially no reports of any new deaths since two people were killed last week.
A tour guide was found dead in Zirbitzkogel late in the afternoon and only a few hours later mountain rescue discovered the corpse of an alpine policeman. The 56-year-old was carried away by an avalanche right in front his wife in Leoben at around midday.
The two deaths come after a Swedish skier was swept away and killed by an avalanche when skiing on piste in Ischgl last Wednesday.
Earlier this month an avalanche went across a marked run in Verbier, but fortunatley no one was buried.
In Navistal, near Wipptal in the Austrian Tirol on Tuesday, a 68-year-old local was carried 250m after being caught in a slide 50m from the summit he was skinning up. An unrelated observer saw the accident from another mountain and called mountain rescue, but the man was already dead by the time he was found.
In East Tirol again on Tuesday, a German ski tourer was luckier - the only member of a nine-strong group to be fully buried by an avalanche that struck while they were having a picnic, he was dug out from under 1.5m of snow, having managed to keep an air-pocket around his face. Three other members of the group were partially buried. In both cases, the avalanche risk level was three out of five.
At 68-year old and still skinning up to summit, he should be proud of himself. RIP, man.
A followup interview about how the airbag saved this person in the Steven Pass avalanche last Sunday:
http://www.planetski.eu/news/3565
A late afternoon avalanche claimed the life of a 24-year-old snowboarder last Thursday in the same out-of-bounds terrain at Utah's Canyons Resort that killed another rider seven years ago. The snowboarder had left the patrolled and controlled terrain within the boundaries of Canyons via an access gate near the top of the resort's Ninety-Nine 90 lift to ride in Dutch Draw.
大秃顶子山发生雪崩 一人遇难
News:
http://my.tv.sohu.com/u/vw/14766291
uncut avalanche video:
http://my.tv.sohu.com/u/vw/14780452
A backcountry skier died in a Lake Tahoe area last Thursday following an avalanche in the backcountry near Alpine Meadows. He had been skiing on Stanford Rock in Ward Valley, a steep backcountry area just south of Alpine Meadows, when the slide struck on Thursday afternoon and carried him for about 300 vertical feet. One of his companions left to summon help while the other, who sustained a broken leg in the avalanche, stayed with him. Rescuers spent three hours travelling to the scene and evacuating the skier, who was tangled in a stand of trees. He was transferred to the hospital before he was pronounced dead on Thursday evening.
An avalanche in an open in-bounds portion of Snowbird in Utah sent a snowboarder to a Salt Lake City area hospital on Sunday. He was riding in the resort's west-facing Blackjack area early on Sunday afternoon when the slide broke loose, leaving him partially buried. Investigators indicated that the two to three foot deep avalanche was 80 feet wide and ran for about 600 feet. The area had been open for three to four hours already on Sunday when the avalanche occurred, and mitigation efforts were performed on the area following Friday's snowfall.
A backcountry avalanche in nearby Millcreek Canyon in Utah also buried a skier under three feet of snow on Sunday, but the victim was quickly located by his skiing partners and he was able to ski out under his own power.
A team of Grand Teton National Park rangers, Teton Interagency personnel, Teton County Search and Rescue members and the Teton County contract helicopter recovered the bodies of two backcountry skiers who died in an avalanche within the park last Thursday.
Chris Onufer, 42, of Teton Village and Steve Romeo, 40, of Jackson, Wyoming were found in avalanche debris just before noon on Thursday. Romeo was the founder of the backcountry skiing website TetonAT.com
Romeo and Onufer on Wednesday were in a couloir on a ridge that forms the north wall of Waterfalls Canyon. Based on evidence at the scene, park rangers believe the pair was ascending with skins when a large soft slab avalanche released, sending them over 2,000 feet down the couloir. The crown broke at about 10,300 feet in elevation and the toe of the avalanche terminated around 7,100 feet in elevation. The crown was estimated to be approximately 600 feet long with a depth of about three feet, and the debris field that reached into Waterfalls Canyon had an estimated average snow depth of six feet. The avalanche danger was rated as moderate on Wednesday by the Bridger-Teton National Forest Avalanche Center.
One2Free
2012-03-14, 17:54
copied from:
http://www.wlski.com/bbs/dispbbs.asp?boardid=2&Id=7577&page=1
whistler老陈请教专家的看法：
我让惠斯勒搜救队的队长Wayne看了录像，想看看他的想法。Ｗａｙｎｅ不懂中文，但有３０多年雪山搜救的经验。以下是他的回信，及翻译。
From the video I gather that these young up coming skiers do not have a lot of time doing it. They are moving through the terrain very slowly and not going from safe place to safe place one at a time. It appears they have no rescue equipment, everyone should have a transceiver , shovel, and probe. They are skiing in steep terrain with large gullies that are easily triggered. With some education and experience this tragedy was preventable. Not sure if they offer courses there, but the terrain they are in is certainly avalanche prone. Would be interesting to find out what their experience level is and if they had any training. Hope this answers some of your questions. Perhaps they could link into my blog for information about avalanches. wayneflannavalancheblog.com, Cheers Wayne
从录像上看，我猜这些年轻的滑雪者们没有很多时间。他们移动的速度很慢，而且没有逐个从一个安全点滑到下一个安全点。他们好像没有带搜救装置。每个人都必须带无线感应器，铲子，和定位器 （a transceiver , shovel, and probe， 我不知道他们的标准中文名字）。他们滑的地方陡而且有很大的深沟。在这样的地形，雪崩是很容易被引发的。如果有一些训练和经验的话，这场悲剧是可以避免的。我不知道在中国是否有雪崩救援的课程，但可以肯定的是他们所在的那个区域是雪崩易发区。我有兴趣知道他们经验水平，及有否经过专门的培训。我希望我回答了你的问题。也许他们可以从我的博客里了解一些关于雪崩的信息。wayneflannavalancheblog.com
A skier was killed last Sunday afternoon when an avalanche swept down a mountain near Revelstoke.
At approximately 4:40 p.m. on Sunday afternoon, police were alerted about a slide on a southwest aspect at about 1900m elevation in the Ghost Peak area of the Selkirk Mountains southeast of Revelstoke. While one victim was buried the remaining members of the group were able to locate him via a beacon search and were able to dig him out, but too late.
Avalanche danger had been rated as considerable to high in the region on Sunday by the Canadian Avalanche Centre. Snowfall, warm temperatures, and strong winds were recorded in the area in the days leading up to and on the day the accident.
copied from:
http://www.wlski.com/bbs/dispbbs.asp?boardid=2&Id=7577&page=1
whistler老陈请教专家的看法
I agree that these Chinese weren't prepared for any possible avalanche at all. RIP.
A helicopter skiing guide from Telluride died on Tuesday in an avalanche in the backcountry northwest of Haines. He was one of two skiers from a party of six with Alaska Heliskiing buried by the slide. Another nearby group of skiers assisted with the location and extrication of the victims.
The other member of the party buried by the slide suffered unspecified injuries and was transported to a hospital in Seattle for treatment.
A helicopter skiing guide from Telluride died on Tuesday in an avalanche in the backcountry northwest of Haines. He was one of two skiers from a party of six with Alaska Heliskiing buried by the slide. Another nearby group of skiers assisted with the location and extrication of the victims.
The other member of the party buried by the slide suffered unspecified injuries and was transported to a hospital in Seattle for treatment.
The second victim buried when an avalanche swept down upon a heli-skiing group near Haines on Tuesday has died in a Seattle hospital.
Five skiers were killed and one survived yesterday when a large avalanche in Sorbmegaisa, a steep mountain 75 miles east of the city of Tromsoe in Norway, engulfed a group of downhill enthusiasts, Norwegian police said. Four were Swiss and one was French.
The survivor was found close to the surface, the others were buried as much as 20 feet deep.
They had been part of a group of 12 when the avalanche occurred some 3,000 feet above the nearby Lyngen Fjord, officials said.
B.C. Canada
--------------
A man and a woman were killed Wednesday when a large avalanche rolled over a group of heli-skiers in British Columbia's Bonnington Mountain range.
The rest of the group, including the guide, were rescued or rescued themselves. One man was confirmed dead at the scene, while a woman later died in hospital.
The deaths bring the toll to 10 people killed by avalanches in the province this season.
B.C. Canada
--------------
A man and a woman were killed Wednesday when a large avalanche rolled over a group of heli-skiers in British Columbia's Bonnington Mountain range.
The rest of the group, including the guide, were rescued or rescued themselves. One man was confirmed dead at the scene, while a woman later died in hospital.
The deaths bring the toll to 10 people killed by avalanches in the province this season.
The victims who died in Wednesday's avalanche were identified as Katie Aring of Salt Lake City and Ryan Keene of London, England. Both were skiing with a guided tour provided by the Snowwater heli-ski company when the incident occurred. They were in a helicopter pick-up zone with their skis removed when the avalanche released above their group of five. A total of four victims were unable to outrun the overtaking wall of snow.
An early one also from BC at Revelstoke, an asian named David Ng:
http://www.bclocalnews.com/news/142410515.html
http://www.globalnews.ca/calgary+man+killed+in+revelstoke+avalanche+was+an+outdoor+enthusiast/6442601607/story.html
Calgarian David Ng, 32, died while backcountry skiing in the Ghost Peak region of Revelstoke on March 11. Their party stayed in the mountain for 2 days before evacuated by helicopter due to bad weather.
Some stunning photographs by one of the ski industry's most dedicated photographers, Grant Gunderson.
This time the photos were taken while Mt. Baker Ski Patrol was carrying out control work on the Shuksan Arm and on Hemispheres, the photos showing a very deep and still active layer in the snow pack that may become very active when the temperatures start to raise, resulting a big slide:
http://grantgunderson.com/blog/?p=132
http://grantgunderson.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/GG0324-10.jpg
Most avalanches kill a few people and that is saddening enough, but this one is like a massacre: 130+ is horrifying by any standard, and sadly dwarfed the Galtur avalanche in 1999.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-17647029
Most avalanches kill a few people and that is saddening enough, but this one is like a massacre: 130+ is horrifying by any standard, and sadly dwarfed the Galtur avalanche in 1999.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-17647029
It was indeed shocking and sad. A friend of mine was trapped in Galtur and was eventually evacuated by helicopter couples of days later after most of the town was demolished by the avalanche.
30 years ago, an avalanche hit the base village of Alpine Meadows and caused a few casualties:
http://www.hkssa.net/showthread.php?t=60378
Couple of days ago, the avalanche in Kashmir (not in a ski resort) killed 130+ soldiers.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-17647029
Why did I start this thread?
Because I want to remind all skiers/boarders that avalanche is dangerous and can often be deadly. Avalanche can happen in-bound and out of bound.
Hopefully this is the last avalanche fatality this season:
A 57-year-old Australian national living in Austria died last Thursday when he was struck by an avalanche while skiing in the western Tyrol region. Temperatures in the region soared last week to unseasonable levels, increasing the likelihood of wet avalanches. The body of the man was recovered by avalanche rescue dogs after being buried for an extended period of time. He was not wearing an avalanche beacon.
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