Archived News - 2008

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Archived Avalanche News Stories - 2008

May 14 , 2008 - Group Probes Avalanche Prevention Plan

A conservation group has filed a request for documents relating to an upcoming decision by Glacier National Park regarding avalanche control on the railroad tracks on the park’s southern border, out of concern that Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway executives may have influenced the decision after the public comment period had closed. More ...

April 17, 2008 - Pakistans Lowari Top: It devours, freezes and kills

Heavy snowfall blocks the Lowari Top in Pakistan for all kinds of traffic every winter and cuts off district Chitral from the rest of the country for at least four months. After closure of the Top, people have to cross it on foot to reach their destinations, but most of the time the trekkers fall prey to avalanches, freezing cold and winds. This winter the Top has killed 12 persons, seven on January 8 and five on April 5, and injured scores of others. An avalanche had hit the workers executing Lowari tunnel project in January, but luckily, they were pulled out unharmed. More ...

April 16, 2008 - Massive Avalanche Cuts Power to Juneau

An avalanche Wednesday has cut all hydroelectric power in Juneau. Alaska Electric Light & Power spokeswoman Gayle Wood says the massive avalanche was about three miles from the Snettisham power house. The mile-and-a-half wide slide took out more than a mile of transmission line. More ...

March 20, 2008 - No way to run a national park

Who has the most clout in Glacier National Park in northwestern Montana? Thousands of citizens who took part in an environmental impact study, or a railroad that wants to control avalanches as cheaply as possible? If you guessed the railroad, it seems you’re right. More ...

March 16, 2008 - No more avalanche forecasts for Juneau ; city ends contract

Juneau has not renewed its contract with an avalanche forecast center that operated for one year, spurring a mixed reaction from residents. Butch Holst, who has lived in one of the avalanche zones for 30 years, said he didn't care for last year's forecast system. "It was scaring the living daylights out of people," Holst said. "People were running for the hills every other day." More ...

March 6, 2008 - Dog caught in Colorado avalanche wanders home

More than 25 people searched for ‘Monkey,’ a rescue dog who triggered Grand County slide. Not only did the case of the victim caught in an avalanche this week have a happy ending, but it’s one they are still laughing about at the Grand County Sheriff’s Office.. More ...

March 3, 2008 - Avalanche Spotted on Mars

A robotic spacecraft circling Mars has snapped the first image of a series of active avalanches near the planet's north pole. The image reveals at least four avalanches of fine ice and dust breaking off from a steep cliff and settling on the slope below. The cascade kicked up massive debris clouds, with some measuring more than 590 feet across. More ...

March 2, 2008 - Visit the scene of Stevens Pass avalanche

Near Stevens Pass, along a gravel hiking trail that follows an old railroad grade, people can visit what once was Wellington, the site of the deadliest avalanche in American history. The Iron Goat Trail provides summer hikers a safe way to explore the area where 96 people lost their lives on March 1, 1910. More ...

March 2, 2008 -Multiple Avalanche Burials, rarer than you think?

There is a great deal of focus by amateur backcountry enthusiasts on multiple burial avalanche accidents. It is a major factor in avalanche beacon choice with transceivers such as the Pieps DSP, Ortovox S1 and Barryvox Pulse simplifying the whole process with easy to read graphical displays. But should skiers and boarders be losing so much sleep over the multiple burial scenario? More ...

February 19, 2008 - Japanese Ski resorts need to stress safety

The avalanche earlier this month that claimed the lives of two Aichi University students on a beginners run in Otarimura, Nagano Prefecture, has raised calls for ski resorts to better inform visitors of the risks of snowslides. More ...

January 30, 2008 - Snow slides dam Big Wood River, hit Ketchum houses

A large avalanche in Ketchum’s Warm Springs neighborhood swept over the home of Chuck and Nancy Ferries along Huffman Drive Monday morning. The slide marks the second time in less than a month that the couple’s home was partially buried by a large avalanche. The Ferries were not home when the second slide swept over their home this week. More ...

January 21, 2008 - Rogers Pass gets a blast of support

Each winter Rogers Pass draws hundreds of backcountry skiers. However, it is also home to deadly avalanche paths that endanger the highway and the railway every year. In an attempt to prevent avalanches, soldiers from the 1st Regiment, Royal Canadian Horse Artillery from Shilo, Manitoba, arrive at Rogers Pass to assist Parks Canada’s Avalanche Control (AVCON) program in triggering the snow before it slides on its own. They bring three 105-millimetre howitzers, which can be deployed to any of the 18 fixed gun positions. More ...

January 10, 2008 - Cost-effectively formed tunnel in Austria

Construction and Maintenance Technologies - Due to a number of avalanches in recent years, the 300-metre long avalanche protection gallery - built in 1994 - has had to be extended by a further 115 metres. For cost-effective construction of the concrete sections, each with 14-metre standard cycle lengths, the contractors are using a PERI formwork solution based on the VARIOKIT construction kit. Through the use of standardized and rentable series production components, it has been possible to do without special elements. This has meant that the overall costs have been greatly reduced – particularly with regard to the small tunnel length and the short construction period. More ...

January 02, 2008 - Avalanche Victims Aided with SPOT Satellite Messenger

When Natalie Bertsch bought her husband a GPS-enabled SPOT(tm) Satellite Messenger, little did she know that only a week later he would use SPOT while coming to the aid of four friends swept away in an avalanche near Laramie, Wyoming. On Jan. 2, 2008, Brian Bertsch contacted an emergency 9-1-1 call center by pressing a single button on his handheld SPOT. More ...

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