his is the number one danger – believe us you don’t want to get caught in one. These are the three key facts you should probably know: - Over 150 people each year on average are killed in avalanches with around 100 of these deaths occurring in the European Alps.
- In 90-95% of cases the victim themselves triggered the avalanche which killed them.
- Most avalanche accidents happen when the risk was known to be high
The following story of a young US snowboarder is sadly typical:
The man was boarding with two friends late in the afternoon on the day after a heavy snowfall. They decided to head for an out-of-bounds area, which draws the occasional skier and snowboarder because of the steep terrain and untracked powder. The gullies were clearly marked with signs that say “avalanche area – do not enter.”
Two of them made it out safely. When their friend did not appear, they left immediately to summon help. The third man’s body was found at 7 p.m that evening.
The snowpack was so unstable that searchers feared that their efforts could trigger more avalanches. Five members of the local ski patrol and four others working with two search dogs strapped on snowshoes and headed up the gully in the dark. They had one of the dogs working through the trees and debris on the right side of the gully, while the other worked the right. They were ready to quit and head down when one of the dogs found a scent. The man’s body was buried under about 50cm of snow.
“You can have every type of equipment – transceivers, shovel, probes — but it’s good or bad decision-making that’s going to keep people alive or leave people dead in avalanche terrain,” the rescuers said. “They made some bad decisions.”
Before reading on, stop and ask yourself:
1. What was the final cause of death?
2. What was the incident spiral that led to the accident?
3. What would you have done differently?
![[Page visit counter]](http://counters.zy.com/counter/username/blue_dougal_10/key/HNHKS/nographic/)
|
