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Archive Index - All Editions

Lifeline Protection for Avalanche Mitigation Crews

At Fernie Alpine Resort in British Columbia avalanche crews might find themselves on extremely hairy cornices while managing the more extreme areas of the mountain. To keep their team safe, Fernie employs lifelines from Gravisys Inc. The horizontal lifelines are designed to protect from fall injuries in a host of different situations. In this case it’s obviously used to protect ski patrollers from falling while managing a dangerous ridge line. The systems are designed specifically for each application, taking care of the engineering, installation, and annual inspection. They also include low frequency radio infochips to keep track of fall protection components, type, length, manufacturer, inspection dates, and more.
More ... (Unofficial Networks)

Buried Hiker Survives Avalanche in Crowsnest Pass, AB

Three hikers triggered a slab avalanche in Crowsnest Pass in southern Alberta on Sunday. The incident occurred southwest of Coleman near Mount Coulthard, in an area known locally as the York Creek plane crash site. The avalanche, which occurred on a convex slope with variable snow depth, caught all three hikers. While one was nearly fully buried, the others escaped with minor injuries. Fortunately, the two unburied hikers managed to locate and extricate their partner before search and rescue teams arrived. The buried individual had one arm protruding from the snow, aiding their swift recovery. They were taken to a hospital in Blairmore with a suspected broken clavicle. A group of hunters in the vicinity assisted in transporting the injured hiker to a waiting ambulance at the search and rescue staging area.
More ... (Snowbrains)

Climate change leads to changing avalanche hazards

Climate change is intensifying natural hazards in the mountains in many places, posing particular challenges for the Alpine region. This is the result of a study jointly coordinated by SLF permafrost expert Samuel Weber and glaciologist Mylène Jacquemart from WSL and ETH Zurich. "Our observations clearly underline the effects of climate change on mass movements in the mountains," says SLF scientist Samuel Weber.

"Activity is declining at low altitudes because the amount of snow is decreasing. At high altitudes, on the other hand, avalanche activity has increased slightly," explains Weber. At the same time, the avalanches are changing their characteristics. Dry avalanches occur less frequently on average these days, while wet snow avalanches are more common.
More ... (SLF)