Skier killed by avalanche in Wyoming.

A skier has died and a second has been injured following an avalanche on Breccia Cliff in Togwotee Pass, Teton County, Wyoming, on Saturday 4 January 2024. The deceased has been identified as Kenneth Goff, 36, from Lander in Fremont County, Wyoming, who is described as having been a nurse and experienced mountaineer. The skiers are reported to have been part of a party of  four who were ascending a slop on skins (strips of material which are attached to the bottom of skis to prevent backsliding, enabling the skier to climb slopes), when they caused a large slab of snow to come loose, burying Goff, and causing injuries to the lower leg of a second skier.

The site of an avalanche which killed a skier and injured a second in Teton County, Wyoming, on Saturday 4 January 2024. Teton County Search and Rescue.

Avalanches are caused by the mechanical failure of snowpacks; essentially when the weight of the snow above a certain point exceeds the carrying capacity of the snow at that point to support its weight. This can happen for two reasons, because more snow falls upslope, causing the weight to rise, or because snow begins to melt downslope, causing the carrying capacity to fall. Avalanches may also be triggered by other events, such as Earthquakes or rockfalls. Contrary to what is often seen in films and on television, avalanches are not usually triggered by loud noises. Because snow forms layers, with each layer typically occurring due to a different snowfall, and having different physical properties, multiple avalanches can occur at the same spot, with the failure of a weaker layer losing to the loss of the snow above it, but other layers below left in place - to potentially fail later.

Diagrammatic representation of an avalanche, showing how layering of snow contributes to these events. Expedition Earth.

Emergency services in Teton County were alerted to the location of the avalanche by an automated call from an iPhone, however, this only provided the location of the incident, not any information about it. This led to multiple rescue teams being deployed, utilising skis, snowmobiles, and a helicopter. In the event, both the helicopter and snowmobiles were forced to turn back due to bad weather, but a party of volunteers on skis was able to reach the location of the avalanche and effect a rescue. Teton County Search and Rescue have warned outdoor sports enthusiasts to be aware of weather conditions when planning expeditions, and also to place limited reliance on automated calls from mobile phones as a way of contacting the emergency services, as these are relatively new technologies and only provide limited information; they advise always backing this up with an actual call or text if possible.

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Woman and child confirmed dead in Finland avalanche.

A woman and her twelve-year-old son have been confirmed dead following an avalanche at Pyhäkuru slope in the Pallastunturi Fells of Finnish Lapland on Tuesday 2 January 2024. The pair, who have not been named, but have been identified as having come from the town of Korsnäs in Ostrobothnia, 700 km to the south, called for help from Lappland Rescue Service after getting into trouble with high winds and extreme cold, but when they arrived at the site there were no signs of the two. Attempts to locate them were hampered by high winds (about 40 m per second), extreme cold (about -23°C at the time of the incident), and limited light conditions (the Sun rose in the region on Friday 5 January for the first time in a month, earlier in the week light was limited to about five hours of twilight per day). The body of the woman was found by a Lapland Police Department rescue team at about 10.00 pm on the day of the avalanche, that of the boy was not recovered until the morning of Thursday 4 January.

(Top) Conditions on Pyhäkuru slope on Tuesday 2 January 2024. Antte Lauhamaa/Lappland Police Department/Yle. (Bottom) Pyhäkuru slope on Wednesday 3 January. Otto Ponto/Helsingin Sanomat.

Avalanches are caused by the mechanical failure of snowpacks; essentially when the weight of the snow above a certain point exceeds the carrying capacity of the snow at that point to support its weight. This can happen for two reasons, because more snow falls upslope, causing the weight to rise, or because snow begins to melt downslope, causing the carrying capacity to fall. Avalanches may also be triggered by other events, such as Earthquakes or rockfalls. Contrary to what is often seen in films and on television, avalanches are not usually triggered by loud noises. Because snow forms layers, with each layer typically occurring due to a different snowfall, and having different physical properties, multiple avalanches can occur at the same spot, with the failure of a weaker layer losing to the loss of the snow above it, but other layers below left in place - to potentially fail later.

Diagrammatic representation of an avalanche, showing how layering of snow contributes to these events. Expedition Earth.

Pyhäkuru slope is popular with freeskiers, but local residents consider it to be extremely dangerous in bad weather. In high winds loose snow from the surrounding area can pile up against the side of the slope, making it appear much less steep than it actually is, but this snow is only loosely packed, and will easily give way if people venture onto it, making skier-induced avalanches a frequent problem.

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Skier killed in avalanche in Denali National Park, Alaska.

A skier has died after triggering an avalanche in the Denali National Park in Alaska on Thursday 2 May 2023. Park rangers and a helicopter were dispatched to the scene after witnesses described observing the skier trigger the avalanche while crossing an unnamed north-facing slope to the south of Jenny Creek at about 1.00 pm local time. They arrived to find the skier, later identified as Eric Walter, an employee of the park, who worked as a ski guide, had died in the avalanche.

Eric Walter, an employee at the Denali National Park in Alaska, killed in an avalanche on 2 May 2023. CNN.

Avalanches are caused by the mechanical failure of snowpacks; essentially when the weight of the snow above a certain point exceeds the carrying capacity of the snow at that point to support its weight. This can happen for two reasons, because more snow falls upslope, causing the weight to rise, or because snow begins to melt downslope, causing the carrying capacity to fall. Avalanches may also be triggered by other events, such as Earthquakes or rockfalls. Contrary to what is often seen in films and on television, avalanches are not usually triggered by loud noises. Because snow forms layers, with each layer typically occurring due to a different snowfall, and having different physical properties, multiple avalanches can occur at the same spot, with the failure of a weaker layer losing to the loss of the snow above it, but other layers below left in place - to potentially fail later.

Diagrammatic representation of an avalanche, showing how layering of snow contributes to these events. Expedition Earth.

The Alaska Division of Parks and Outdoor Recreation has issued a warning to people travelling in avalanche-prone mountain areas in the state, as the warming spring weather makes snow-covered slopes more prone to avalanches at this time of year.

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Skier killed by avalanche in Upper Weber Canyon, Utah.

A skier has been killed and another injured in an avalanche in Upper Weber Canyon in Summit County, Utah, at about 3.30 pm on Thursday 9 March 2023. The avalanche was triggered when a guided group of skiers, inadvertently skied onto a slope where a slab of hard-packed snow overlay a weaker layer, which gave way. The slab, which was about 400 m wide traveled about 1250 m downslope, carrying two of the skiers with it. When found both were fully buried. One of the victims was taken to a nearby hospital, where they are described as being in a stable condition, while the other had stopped breathing and could not be revived.

The scene of an avalanche in Upper Weber Canyon, Utah, which killed on skier and injured another on 9 March 2022. Utah Avalanche Center.

Avalanches are caused by the mechanical failure of snowpacks; essentially when the weight of the snow above a certain point exceeds the carrying capacity of the snow at that point to support its weight. This can happen for two reasons, because more snow falls upslope, causing the weight to rise, or because snow begins to melt downslope, causing the carrying capacity to fall. Avalanches may also be triggered by other events, such as Earthquakes or rockfalls. Contrary to what is often seen in films and on television, avalanches are not usually triggered by loud noises. Because snow forms layers, with each layer typically occurring due to a different snowfall, and having different physical properties, multiple avalanches can occur at the same spot, with the failure of a weaker layer losing to the loss of the snow above it, but other layers below left in place - to potentially fail later.

Diagrammatic representation of an avalanche, showing how layering of snow contributes to these events. Expedition Earth.

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Four skiers injured by avalanche in Austria.

Four skiers have been injured after being hit by an avalanche on Mount Trittkopf, a 2700 m summit near the village of Lech am Arlberg in the Austrian state of Vorarlberg. The incident happened at about 3.00 pm on Christmas Day (25 December) 2022. Ten skiers were initially reported missing following the incident, but all of them have now been located. One of the injured skiers has been airlifted to a hospital in Innsbruck, but none is thought to have sustained life-threatening injuries.

A rescue team on Mount Trittkopf in western Austria on 25 December 2022. Austria Presse Agentur.

Avalanches are caused by the mechanical failure of snowpacks; essentially when the weight of the snow above a certain point exceeds the carrying capacity of the snow at that point to support its weight. This can happen for two reasons, because more snow falls upslope, causing the weight to rise, or because snow begins to melt downslope, causing the carrying capacity to fall. Avalanches may also be triggered by other events, such as Earthquakes or rockfalls. Contrary to what is often seen in films and on television, avalanches are not usually triggered by loud noises. Because snow forms layers, with each layer typically occurring due to a different snowfall, and having different physical properties, multiple avalanches can occur at the same spot, with the failure of a weaker layer losing to the loss of the snow above it, but other layers below left in place - to potentially fail later.

Diagrammatic representation of an avalanche, showing how layering of snow contributes to these events. Expedition Earth.

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Avalanche kills skier in Colorado.

A skier has died following an avalanche at Cameron Pass in Colorado on Friday 24 December 2021, according to the Colorado Avalanche Information Center. The skier, who has not yet been named, was with a companion when he was buried by the event, and despite being dug out promptly, did not survive. The avalanche was about 50 m wide, and is thought to have been caused by the failure of a layer of faceted snow 30-100 cm beneath the surface at a point where the slope steepens sharply. This had been covered by a recent snowfall, and would not have been apparent to the skiers. This is the first fatality of the 2021-22 ski season in Colorado; twelve people are thought to have died in avalanches in Colorado in the winter of 2020-21, the majority of them while skiing.

 

The crown of the 24 December 2021 Cameron Pass avalanche. Lucas Mouttet/Colorado Avalanche Information Center.

Avalanches are caused by the mechanical failure of snowpacks; essentially when the weight of the snow above a certain point exceeds the carrying capacity of the snow at that point to support its weight. This can happen for two reasons, because more snow falls upslope, causing the weight to rise, or because snow begins to melt downslope, causing the carrying capacity to fall. Avalanches may also be triggered by other events, such as Earthquakes or rockfalls. Contrary to what is often seen in films and on television, avalanches are not usually triggered by loud noises. Because snow forms layers, with each layer typically occurring due to a different snowfall, and having different physical properties, multiple avalanches can occur at the same spot, with the failure of a weaker layer losing to the loss of the snow above it, but other layers below left in place - to potentially fail later.

 

Diagrammatic representation of an avalanche, showing how layering of snow contributes to these events. Expedition Earth.

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