Category: Avalanches

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THREE HURT: Cars swept away by Swiss alpine pass avalanche

An avalanche has swept two cars while crossing the Klausen Pass in Switzerland. THREE HURT: Cars swept away by Swiss alpine pass avalanche. Photo of an avalanche by Caspar Rubin - Unsplash.

Three hurt: Cars swept away by Swiss alpine pass avalanche.  “Three people have been hurt after an avalanche swept away two cars attempting to cross an alpine pass in Switzerland on Sunday. All three were taken to hospital where their condition is described as non-life threatening.
The incident took place at around 2pm on the Klausen Pass that connects cantons Uri and Glarus in central Switzerland. At nearly 2,000 meters high, the mountain pass is still affected by snow and had only opened for road traffic earlier in the week”, reports Swissinfo.ch.



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“Canton Uri police report that the avalanche struck 200 metres from the top of the pass, sweeping about 100 metres down the road. The injured car occupants were airlifted to hospital and a fourth passenger escaped from the incident unhurt.

Klaussen pass, where the avalanche struck two cars and pushed them away 200 meters from the top of the pass. THREE HURT: Cars swept away by Swiss alpine pass avalanche
Klaussen pass, where the avalanche struck two cars and pushed them away 200 meters from the top of the pass. THREE HURT: Cars swept away by Swiss alpine pass avalanche. Photo: Worldradio.ch

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How to deal with high prone avalanche terrain. A talk with Coco Torres, formerly of Las Leñas, Argentina.

A Gaz-ex installation in a mountain - methods of containing high prone avalanche areas.

How to deal with high prone avalanche terrain – A talk with Coco Torres, former Mountain Manager in Las Leñas and now Operative Consultant for numerous ski resorts.

Jorge “Coco” Torres has left Las Leñas in the year 2010, having worked for several years as the Mountain Manager in charge of all the avalanches control operations, amongst all other mountain matters.

One of the maps of the off-piste of Las Leñas showcasing its couloirs, which are also coincide avalanche corridors. Las Leñas is a high prone avalanche area.
One of the maps of the off-piste of Las Leñas showcasing its couloirs, which are also coincide avalanche corridors. Las Leñas is a high prone avalanche area. How to deal with high prone avalanche terrain. A talk with Coco Torres, formerly of Las Leñas, Argentina.

I’ve contacted him as I’ve always found fascinating how Las Leñas took control of their avalanches. Every time there was a storm at Las Leñas, which could last a whole week, we went on hearing bombing all day and all night. I know that Las Leñas is a high prone avalanche terrain.

 

Skiing in La Thuile- Soft Pastels, Pan Pastels, Pastel Pencils and Charcoal on La Carte Pastel. 60 x 80 cm. In my shop!
Skiing in La Thuile- Soft Pastels, Pan Pastels, Pastel Pencils and Charcoal on La Carte Pastel. 60 x 80 cm. In my shop!

Skiing in Europe, I cannot say I have heard too many bombs at all, so this prompted me to start putting together a couple of stories that will come out on the next months, on how the avalanches are prevented or controlled in different countries of the world.

Coco told me that he left Las Leñas (Mendoza, Argentina) in the year 2010, and since then he has been working as a consultant in mountain projects and developments. He is going to tell me the process used in Las Leñas at least until he left the valley.

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Three Spaniard Skiers have died and two others are injured in Switzerland after an avalanche in Fiescheralp.

Photo by JEAN-CHRISTOPHE BOTT/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock (9488635h) Rescue crews move into direction of the avalanche site to search for five hikers who were carried away on 31 March by an avalanche in Obers Taelli over the Fiescheralp, in Fiesch, Switzerland, 01 April 2018. An avalanche reportedly 'carried away' five people on 31 March in Fiesch in the Swiss Upper Valais region. Police said on 01 April that three persons were killed and two others were injured. Rescue works after avalanche in Swiss Alps, Fiesch, Switzerland - 01 Apr 2018. Three Spaniard Skiers have died and two others are injured in Switzerland after an avalanche.

This past Sunday, three Spanish skiers have died, overtaken by an avalanche and two others where found alive in  Fiescheralp, communicated the Swiss Police. This winter and spring were one of the most mortal ones due to avalanches. 

Helicopter searching the Spaniards caught in an avalanche. Photo EFE. Three Spaniard Skiers have died and two others are injured in Switzerland after an avalanche.
Helicopter searching the Spaniards caught in an avalanche. Photo EFE

As per the press release from the Police Office of the Valais canton, of a group of five skiers, three people have died and other two have been found alive. “The first investigations point to the victims being from Spanish origin. The formal identification of the deceased is being taking place”, says the release.



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The five people were part of a group that on Saturday started a ski touring trip in direction of the Fiescheralp station, in the Valais canton, near the Aletsch glacier. When they were at 2,450 meters of altitude, around 16.45 hours (14.45 GMT), an avalanche trapped the five skiers.

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Tragedy strikes again in the Verbier region of Switzerland, one skier is dead and three are missing after an avalanche.

Avalanches- Mount Aspiring, an angry mountain, New Zealand- Photo by Aleks Dahlberg- Unsplash.

Tragedy strikes again in the Verbier region of Switzerland, one skier is dead and three are missing after an avalanche.

The authorities have found this past Saturday the lifeless body of one skier in the Verbier region. The group skiing with him is missing.

Verbier - Valais - Another avalanche killed one and three are still missing -
Verbier – Valais – Another avalanche killed one and three are still missing –

 

The dead skier was part of a group of four people that an avalanche caught last Friday. The police of the area have started to look out for the rest of the group.

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Avalanches claim several lives this past weekend in Switzerland

An Avalanche claimed a death in Arolla- Photo: Arolla in Switzerland.

In one report from Swissinfo.ch – a 40-year old hiker and a 57-year-old cross-country skier lost their lives in two separate avalanches in the Swiss Alps in recent days.

Arolla3-photo.
Arolla3-photo.

The hiker was a in a group of four that were swept away by an avalanche on Saturday near a steep gorge at 3,600m above the village of Arolla, which is popular starting point for hiking and ski tours. Rescue services managed to reach them and they were transported to hospitals in Martigny and Sion. However, the 40-year old woman from Valais died on Saturday night in the hospital. The other three hikers are recovering but are not in danger of losing their lives.

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