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Archive Index - All Editions

Snowboarder does a backflip ahead of avalanche (Video)

In the gripping video, the snowboarder makes a snap decision and performs a backflip in order to get ahead of an avalanche that is making its way down a mountain and fast.

Two caveats. First, while the story is from India Times (but may appear elsewhere as well) the video is not from India. In the video it is clear it is from the US. Second, it does not seem that the flip was intended to escape the avalanche but rather that he did not know at that moment there was an avalanche. It sounds like he first saw it mid-flip. Nonetheless it's quite a video and quite a feat, but not recommended!
More ... (India Times)

Austria - One meter of snow: first avalanche warnings

Sept 12: First temperatures of 30 degrees and above, now the first avalanche warnings. Or: From swimming trunks straight to touring skis. The first winter sports enthusiasts could already be active in Tyrol this weekend. Continuous rain is forecast for Friday and Saturday in North Tyrol. Up to one meter of snow will fall at high altitudes, with the snow line at 700 meters.

Experts from the Tyrolean avalanche warning service are warning people to be very careful in the mountains: "Loose snow and sliding snow avalanches are to be expected. Accumulations of drifting snow are also likely to occur." After a short break in the precipitation from Saturday evening to Sunday afternoon, rain and snow will return.
More ... (Kronen Zeitung)

Operation after avalanche: One person probably buried

Sept 14 - An avalanche occurred on Saturday morning in the area of the Binsalm in the Karwendel in the municipality of Vomp. According to initial information, around 30 people may have been in the area, initially a hiker was caught in the masses of snow and buried. A secondary avalanche caught a mountain rescuer.

Shortly before 11 a.m., an avalanche occurred in the Karwendel in the municipality of Vomp (district of Schwaz). According to the Tyrol control center, the accident occurred on the summer trail between the Gasthof Eng and the Binsalm (around 1500 m). A hiking group of around 30 people was on their way from the Binsalm to the Eng, initially one person, a 70-year-old German, was buried. The buried person had no avalanche transceiver with him.
More ... (Kronen Zeitung)

Two Buried in Austrian Avalanche in Summer Snowstorm

Sept 15 - An avalanche buried a German hiker on Saturday, September 14 around 11 a.m. and subsequently a German rescue worker in a follow-on avalanche. The approximately 70-year-old German hiker had been hiking in a group of 27 hikers on the summer hiking trail in the Karwendel region in Austria, just across the border from Germany. Search and rescue teams from Tyrol, Austria, and Bavaria, Germany, responded to the scence. During the search and rescue, a team member was caught by a follow-on avalanche.
More ... (Snow Brains)