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Archive Index - All Editions

Two taken to hospital after Nagano avalanche rescue

This is a short story for one of several avalanches on the same day. We are trying to sort out details of the three which are sparse. More information will be posted in the avalanche-center.org archive soon if possible. For some if not all of the incidents.

Two men were rescued and taken to a hospital after 10 people were caught in an avalanche in Nagano Prefecture's Northern Alps on Saturday (Mar 2), NHK reported, with the other eight descending the mountain on their own.
More ... (Japan Times)

2 Snowmobilers Killed in Avalanches in WA and ID Last Weekend

These two incidents have been added to the avalanche-center.org archives but have not yet been updated. Full details will be available there within the next day or two.

Two snowmobilers were killed in separate avalanche incidents on Friday, March 1, as heavy snow continued to fall on the west. On March 1, 2024, at approximately 1:30 p.m., Law Enforcement received a call alerting them of a possible avalanche fatality in the southern Selkirk mountains, near the Pack River drainage, in Boundary County, Idaho. Another avalanche accident occurred on Friday, March 1, near Darland Mountain in the Ahtanum Meadows, Washington.
More ...(Snowbrains)

Snow biker killed in avalanche near Revelstoke as B.C.

More details will be posted in the Avalanche Center archives as soon as possible.

An avalanche in B.C.’s Interior has killed a snow biker near Revelstoke as warnings of persisting danger are extended. Avalanche Canada says the fatal avalanche happened Sunday at Sale Mountain north of Revelstoke, when one of the riders in a group was caught in the slide. The agency says those in the group and others nearby quickly pulled the man from the snow, but even as they were performing CPR, a second avalanche came down and burned some snowmobiles.
Source ... (Vancouver Sun)

Avalanche exploders on Berthoud Pass - Are they working?

Remote-controlled avalanche mitigation in Colorado began in 2015 on Stanley Mountain above U.S. 40 on Berthoud Pass. The idea was that frequently triggered, remote-controlled explosions from the five Gazex exploders in the Stanley slide paths would prevent a large accumulation of snow and reduce the risk of unexpected, large avalanches burying the highway. 

“But when you talk with the old guard avalanche workers, this theory has not been proven. There is still kind of an open question about whether this kind of (remote controlled avalanche) mitigation changes the return period of large avalanches,” said Ethan Greene, the executive director of the Colorado Avalanche Information Center. “Looking at the return rates of road hits on Stanley, and the rate has not changed much since the 1970s.”
Source ... (Colorado Sun)

Avalanche Forecaster Nick Burks Killed Anthony Lakes, OR

NORTH POWDER, Ore. – A 37-year-old skier was killed after being overtaken by an avalanche in Oregon on Wednesday, according to local officials. The incident occurred on Gunsight Mountain, which is located near Anthony Lakes Mountain Resort in northeast Oregon, while Nicholas Scott Burks was skiing with fellow experienced backcountry skier William Sterling Sloop.
Source ... (FOX Weather)