Avalanche News - Nov 27, 2023
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The news feed has been light lately, especially after ignoring sensationalized stories. So this new update covers the past week or so.
Utah Avalanche Center reports first backcountry slides
Monday, Nov 20: The Utah Avalanche Center posted its first reports of avalanches Sunday in the backcountry. Most of these avalanches were reported as soft slabs of new snow or wind-drifted snow, primarily in the upper elevation northerly facing terrain. While burial risk is generally low, there is always some chance of being carried over and through consequential terrain, causing significant traumatic injury, according to the Avalanche Center. (The database at avalanche-center.org shows very few US fatalities in November.)
More ... (Park Record)
Juneau State and CBJ offices closed due to blizzard
A blizzard dumping inches of snow every hour in Juneau has closed the State of Alaska office buildings in the Capital City. It’s the first big major weather event of the winter season for Juneau, which could get up to 15 inches of snow today. There’s an avalanche alert for the slide-prone Thane Road, issued by the Alaska Department of Transportation: :Strong winds combined with heavy snowfall at higher elevations will significantly increase the avalanche hazard above Thane Road the next few days.” The road may be closed on and off as the department tries to mitigate any avalanches.
More ... (Must Read Alaska)
Remember when Frozen helped solve the Dyaltov Pass incident?
For those who don’t know, the Dyatlov Pass incident is a hiking tragedy that happened in Russia’s Ural Mountains in 1959. A group of nine people were discovered dead a few weeks after pitching their tent in the snowy slopes. What was particularly haunting about the bodies, however, was the state in which they were found. That mystery made space for decades of fantastical theories to crop up, including Yetis, aliens, wild animals, infrasound, the Soviet military, or (most boring and plausible) an avalanche. But for years, the avalanche theory was considered an insufficient explanation. In the initial investigation, and several subsequent ones, researchers found none of the typical evidence that might suggest an avalanche had been triggered. But in 2019, a group of physicists determined that an extremely small avalanche could technically be possible in that area.
More ... (Polygon)
Atlas surveys avalanche risks of Bow Valley ice climbs
For ice climbers, the stakes around avalanche fatalities have historically been high and, until recently, not as well-understood as many who’ve been climbing for decades feel they should be. Canmore’s Sarah Hueniken, a professional climber, alpine guide and ice climbing ambassador for Avalanche Canada, is creating an Ice Climbing Atlas with the help of Grant Statham, who works for Parks Canada’s Banff, Yoho and Kootenay field unit as a visitor safety specialist.
More ... (Rocky Mountain Outlook)
Avalanche in Iran kills 5 climbers, injures another 4
A report by the state-owned IRNA news agency said rescue teams recovered the bodies of five climbers from San Boran peak, some 300 kilometers (about186 miles) southwest of the capital Tehran. The other four injured were taken to hospital. The report said the 9-member team of climbers began their journey on Thursday despite a warning by local authorities about possible risk. The peak, the highest of the Oshtrankooh mountain range at 4150 meters (about 13,600 feet), witnessed heavy rain and snow in recent weeks.
More ... (Avalanche-Center.org incident reports)
