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Archive Index - All Editions

One avalanche fatality, 2 close calls in Alaska

The information available on the fatality is still limited but there is a file with it in the Avalanche Center incidents section. That will be updated when/if more details come out later. (Details released later rarely make it into the main media.)

Three people were caught in separate avalanches in the Chugach Mountains last week according to Alaska State Troopers and forecasters, including a heli-skier who died after snow pushed him into rocks. Friday’s deadly avalanche happened in a more remote area northeast of Anchorage, in the Lake George area near Knik Glacier, according to the company operating the heli-ski excursion, Silverton Mountain Guides.
Source ... (Alaska Public Media)

Massive avalanche hits Jammu-Kashmir’s Sonamarg

A massive avalanche struck the Sonamarg area on the Srinagar-Leh Highway on Thursday, PTI reported, citing officials. No loss of life has been reported so far. The avalanche, which was caught on camera, struck around the workshop for Zojila tunnel construction in Sonamarg. The source linked below has a video as well as a 3 panel photo excerpted from the video.
More ... (Hindustan Times)

One dead in avalanche in NE Turkey

One man has lost his life after he got caught up in an avalanche in the northeastern province of Artvin, as experts issued heavy snow and avalanche warnings for the Eastern Black Sea and Eastern Anatolia regions. Gökhan Yılmaz, a snow clearing operator, was injured when an avalanche fell on his machine. Despite the interventions made by paramedics, Yılmaz could not be saved. His body was taken to a morgue. The Turkish State Meteorology Service issued orange and yellow alerts for 12 of the country's 81 provinces and warned of avalanche danger in the Eastern Black Sea and Eastern Anatolia regions.
Source ... (Hurriyet Daily News)

Avalanche at Lee Canyon ski area in Nevada

Not much is available in the way of details. At this time nothing has been added to the Avalanche Center archives. While four people were reported missing it seems, based on various media reports, that one was involved in the avalanche with minor injuries, if any. Where the other three were is unclear, some reports say "rescued" (seems unlikely) and others report that they were "found safe". It's common in these situations for a person to be initially missing and then found in the lodge or elsewhere on the mountain. In 2005 there was a large avalanche at Lee Canyon which killed a person on a lift. We have a CD worth of aerial photos taken by the Metro Police afterward which is impressive but lack the resources to do anything in terms of posting them.

Feb 5 - Four people who were reported missing after an avalanche hit a ski resort in Nevada have been found safe, according to police. The quartet were listed as missing after the same severe storm system that’s moving through California caused an avalanche at the resort in southwestern Nevada, according to Las Vegas police. “The storm is moving right into southern Nevada at this time. Not much rain here but quite a bit of heavy snow in the mountains,” said Andrew Gorelow, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Las Vegas. The avalanche occurred at the Lee Canyon ski resort, which is less than 50 miles from Las Vegas.
Source ... (LA Times)