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Archive Index - All Editions

An avalanche and a 'really confused' moose

John McDonald from Loveland, CO and three buddies were checking out the new snow in the lower terrain of Diamond Peaks early Saturday when they found the scene of an avalanche and a moose that looked confused. The debris field stopped a short distance from the moose's hooves, and there was highly unstable snow. That was enough evidence for the group to agree the moose most likely triggered the avalanche. "The slide was just above him and I'm not sure if the slide carried him, but he was standing pretty close to the debris field," McDonald said. "It was standing there looking really confused, and it looked like he couldn’t get to where he wanted to go."
More ... (Coloradoan)

Ben Nevis hit by biggest avalanche 'in years'

A huge avalanche has been recorded on the UK's highest mountain. A recorder from the Scottish Avalanche Information Service (SAIS) said it was the largest he had seen in "years". It happened on 4413ft high Ben Nevis in Observatory Gully and was spotted on Monday. "There had been large avalanches out of both Number 2 Gully area and Observatory Gully as well as some smaller (but still substantial) avalanches," wrote the recorder.

"This included another one on the West Face of Carn Mor Dearg. I had not seen an avalanche on this face before, and now I have seen two in a few days! Over the season you tend to get quite a lot of avalanche activity in Observatory Gully. However, this is the biggest slide I have seen here for a few years."
Source ... (Scottish Daily Express)

Avalanche danger remains high as snowfall pummels Juneau

Wednesday - More snow, more avalanches, more sunk boats, and more collapsed roofs

JUNEAU - Juneau put out a statement Wednesday that said avalanches have come down on Basin Road and above Behrends Avenue, the same spot where a slide occurred last week. A city official said that Basin Road is closed where it intersects with Eighth Street. Several boats have sunk and at least one roof has caved in as Alaska’s capital city remains under avalanche alerts amidst a record-breaking snowfall. Juneau has seen over 28 inches of snow since Sunday alone and is up over 61 inches — or more than five feet — in the month of January.

A week prior, Juneau was hit with over 30 inches of snow over a span of three days, leaving at least three boats sunk in the city harbor. The snow dump also resulted in two large avalanches close to town, one of which buried Thane Road in roughly 1-2 feet of snow and closed it for almost a day. Further work to clear the area of the slide has continued since then.
Source ... (Alaska's News Source)

Heavy rain - avalanche risk even higher in Juneau

Friday - Now comes the rain - more avalanches, more sunk boats, and more collapsed roofs

Juneau is at a high latitude but at sea level and the climate is the epiome of Maritime

The record snowfall is over, but the heavy lifting and danger of it remains — and may get much worse with heavy rain forecast through Monday that will result in high weight loads on structures and boats, and increase the potential for avalanches, according to officials. One to two inches of rain are forecast each day Friday through Monday, according to a warning issued Thursday afternoon by the National Weather Service. Warming temperatures means the snow level will be about 3,000 feet on Friday and rise to more than 4,000 by Sunday.

Thane Road, which was opened at 3 p.m. Thursday following intermittent closures during the week, is scheduled to be closed again indefinitely stating at 6 p.m. Friday. “The closure will remain in effect until weather conditions allow for Avalanche Hazard Mitigation work or until the hazard naturally decreases,” a statement issued Friday notes. “Conditions will continue to be monitored during the closure period.”
Source ... (Juneau Empire)

Norway Avalanche kills woman and dog

Police in Northern Norway have confirmed that a woman who failed to return from a walk with her dog earlier this week was found dead after an avalanche in Finnvikdalen, outside Tromsø. Her dog Atlas was also found dead by emergency crews digging through mounds of snow in an otherwise popular hiking area.
Source ... (newsinenglish.no)

Snowmobiler injured near Georgetown Lake (update)

The Beaverhead Deerlodge National Forest has released details about an avalanche that buried and injured a snowmobiler on Twin Peaks Ridge on Jan. 20.
Source ... (Avalanche-Center.org archives)

Colorado doctor survived avalanche, died 500 feet downslope

A full report of what happened in a fatal avalanche on January 22, killing a 67-year-old doctor in the Ophir area, has been released. Harrelson was backcountry snowboarding when he unintentionally triggered the release. He survived the initial slide, but would later die. By the time the avalanche stopped, Harrelson was partially buried near its toe with traumatic injuries and a broken snowboard. He was able to free himself, but did not dig out his backpack and decided to leave his snowboard behind. Harrelson then headed downhill, with his body ultimately being found 500 to 600 feet from the toe of the avalanche.

In conclusion, investigators determined that the injuries sustained by Harrelson were not immediately life-threatening and that a combination of the injuries and the cold winter exposure overnight were ultimately what resulted in his death.
Source ... (Avalanche-Center.org archives)