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Photographer Captures a Blue Flash During Avalanche

A Chinese astrophotographer attempting to capture star trails says he unexpectedly recorded a mysterious blue flash during an icefall avalanche. According to Shengyu Li, he was recording stars moving above Mount Xiannairi in Sichuan on October 27th when an unexpected avalanche occurred. During the event, his camera captured the mysterious blue flash. “It started with a blocky serac, which randomly calved from a glacier near the mountain’s peak,” explained Carson Reid, a mountaineer who analyzed Li’s movie for spaceweather.com. “The serac would have fragmented as it tumbled down and smashed into natural obstacles.”

Further analysis revealed that the flashes seemed to be at their brightest when the falling ice experienced critical “smash points” on the way down. Li believes that the increased flashes at smash points hint that they may be caused by a friction-induced phenomenon known as a triboelectric effect. “Our initial hypothesis is that the luminescence may result from friction-induced lighting during the fragmentation of ice,” he explained.

Although rare, a mysterious blue flash of light caused by cracking ice is not a new phenomenon. Victor Petrenko’s 1996 paper “Electromechanical Phenomena in Ice” explains that the main cause of electromagnetic emissions (EME) in ice is the “frozen-in” or “intrinsic” electrical field that is always present in both sea and freshwater ice. “This electrical field is generated by spatial nonuniformity in the concentration of ions dissolved in the ice bulk,” Petrenko writes. “Mobile ions trapped in the ice bulk then diffuse against the gradient of their concentration, generating electrical charge transport and an intrinsic electrical field in ice.” When the ice cracks, this field can release energy in the form of a flash of light like the one captured by Li’s camera.
More ... (The Debrief)

Flathead Avalanche Center Begins Issuing Daily Advisories

As winter begins in northwest Montana, the Flathead Avalanche Center (FAC) today began issuing daily advisories that provide information on the latest avalanche conditions in a forecast region that covers the Swan, Whitefish and Flathead ranges along with Glacier National Park. The advisories provide daily avalanche forecasts that include danger ratings and snowpack observations with commentary. Updates will continue through April.

Daily advisories begin following an atmospheric river that flowed through the region in mid-November, leading to an accumulation of above-average snowfall. Whitefish Mountain Resort currently has a snow depth of 40 inches on Big Mountain while Noisy Basin in the Swan Range has a depth of 47 inches. Flattop Mountain in Glacier National Park sits at 36 inches.
More ... (Flathead Beacon)

It’s snow game: rescuing skiers in trouble

[This is a long, comprehensive and interesting look at mountain rescue in Switzerland. It's not avalanche specific but quite relevant.]

As a sport, skiing has plenty of hazards. These hazards are increased when the skiers go off-piste, away from help, away from controlled and designated slopes, and into the path of avalanches, rocks, cliffs and others sources of injury. In Switzerland alone, tens of thousands of winter sports enthusiasts injure themselves on the slopes each year. The rescue season for skiers typically lasts from late autumn to early spring, when winter sports activities are most often practiced.

On average, AAA Alpine Air Ambulance carries out around 5,000 missions a year. From its base in Balzers, Liechtenstein, which covers the high Alpine areas, it carries out 600 missions a year, 40% of which are ski accidents. Operations are 24/7, missions in darkness being carried out using night vision goggles (NVG).

Rega, meanwhile, flies between 1,600 and 2,100 injured skiers to hospital each year. With 14 helicopter bases located throughout the country, Rega can reach any location in Switzerland within 15 minutes by air. Its fleet consists of eight Airbus H145 ‘lowland helicopters’ and 11 AgustaWestland Da Vinci ‘mountain helicopters’. An Airbus EC135 is stationed at the Geneva base. On winter days when the weather is good, Rega’s mountain bases in popular tourist areas are particularly busy, so additional helicopters and crews are deployed there in support.

AAA Alpine Air Ambulance works in collaboration with ground-based search and rescue (SAR) services, with 90% of its missions carried out with the help of the Pistenrettung (piste rescue service). This integrated approach ensures efficient coordination in emergencies. In the event of an avalanche, AAA works together with the mountain rescue service. During peak season Rega helicopters are always equipped with a RECCO detector for searching for buried victims. Using radio waves, this can locate RECCO reflectors within a range of up to 80m through air and 20m through packed snow, which results in a practical range of 30m in avalanche debris. The current detector weighs 1kg.
More ... (AirMed & Rescue)

South Klondike Highway reopens following avalanche

An avalanche on the U.S. side has closed the road between the Yukon and Skagway. According to a statement from the Yukon department of highways and public works, the South Klondike Highway is closed between kilometres 24 and 37, stopping travellers at Fraser. According to the statement issued at 10 a.m. Dec. 2, the road is expected to reopen later today if weather allows.

The region south of Whitehorse, including the mountain pass the highway runs through, is under a snowfall warning, set to last through much of the day. Travellers are advised to check Yukon 511 for the latest information on road conditions. The highway information page reports blowing snow and icy sections including black ice in the area leading up to closed part of the highway.

Dec 2 Update: The South Klondike Highway reopened as of 2 p.m. with the avalanch reported earlier in the day cleared according to Yukon highways and public works.
More ... (Yukon News)

Map shows where 172 UK avalanches happened

Avalanches are perhaps most associated with the Himalayas or the Alps - but they occur in the UK as well, albeit on a lesser scale. The incidents can see cascades of snow surge down mountainsides, blocking paths and potentially endangering walkers and climbers. Regular specialised weather forecasts are issued for mountainous and hilly regions across Great Britain to make people heading into those areas aware of the expected conditions.

The Scottish Avalanche Information Service (SAIS) has produced a map showing where avalanches have been reported. The map shows more than 170 incidents have been recorded in the last 12 months. [Link to map in original article]
More ... (Express UK)

Avalanche deaths of mother and son was a 'tragic accident'

A mother and son caught in an avalanche in the French Alps while skiing were killed in a “tragic accident”, an inquest has heard. Katharine Vokes, 54, known as Kate, and her 22-year-old son Archie died after the avalanche swept through an off-piste area in the Saint-Gervais-les-Bains resort near Mont Blanc on December 28. An inquest into their deaths, held at Manchester South Coroner’s Court on Wednesday, heard the experienced skiers were on a family holiday and were familiar with the area.

Coroner’s officer Claire Smith confirmed the two, from Didsbury, Manchester, were caught in the avalanche and later recovered from the snow. She said an investigation in France had concluded with no action taken. Senior coroner for Manchester South Alison Mutch asked: “Is it the case that the view of the French authorities appears to be that this was a tragic accident?” Ms Smith replied: “That’s my understanding, yes.” Concluding the inquests, she said: “It is very clear that the French authorities have investigated the circumstances and the indication is that there are to be no proceedings in that country.