Avalanche

[FishyFolk]

Here in Troms county it's been raining since friday. With the snow allready on the ground, and expected snowfall and later rain again, plus a small storm coming in conditions are perfect for avalanches. It's all over the news, but since this is the first day of the kids winter holliday, I suspect that right now there is an idiot up in the hills crossing an avalanche prone area....will let you know when the news ticks in...

Anyway here are some avalanche facts:

• An average of 5 people are killed by avalanches every year in Norway. A house offers no protection against an avalanche

• 90% of all hikers taken by an avalanche set them off themselves

• The majority is hit by an avalanche when the Avalanche danger is medium


• An avalanche may move as fast as 50 meters a second.

• An avalanch can reach more than 1 km

• An avalanche can contain more than 100000 cubic mters of snow.

• one cubic meter of snow may weigh 700 kilos.

• An avalanche may induce a pressure of 40 ton per square meter

• A house wall can withstand a pressure of 200 kilos per square meter

* Within 30-45 minutes most people taken by an avalanche will die, if not rescued.

Maybe the Rescue volunteers on here will like to see this report and get something out of it. It's from last years big avalanche when 6 tourists got hit. 5 of them died. The survivor was buried by the avalanche but had his head above snow.

http://www.ngi.no/upload/Sn%C3%B8skred/Ulykker/Fatal%20accident_2012_19March_Sorbmegaisa.pdf

[Silverback]

Thanks Rune. More avalanche facts/news

There was an avalanche in Scotland which killed three a couple of weeks ago.

Avalanches in the UK in the mountains are more frequent than you would think

There was a significant risk of avalanche on a search 2 years ago.....in the Peak District !

All UK MR volunteers routinely train on UK mountains in winter and avalanche search and particularly medicine is part of that.

http://www.burnleyexpress.net/news/local-news/tragedy-pendle-mountain-rescue-dog-helps-in-scottish-avalanche-search-1-5423678

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/avalanches-danger-alert-in-england-1648208

[FishyFolk]

Thanks Rune. More avalanche facts/news

There was an avalanche in Scotland which killed three a couple of weeks ago.

Avalanches in the UK in the mountains are more frequent than you would think

There was a significant risk of avalanche on a search 2 years ago.....in the Peak District !

All UK MR volunteers routinely train on UK mountains in winter and avalanche search and particularly medicine is part of that.

http://www.burnleyexpress.net/news/local-news/tragedy-pendle-mountain-rescue-dog-helps-in-scottish-avalanche-search-1-5423678

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/avalanches-danger-alert-in-england-1648208

I can imagine that you would have some with your wet winter climate. Do you get a lot of them that is just sludge? I.e snow saturated with water?
These move really fast and are very deadly...

[Silverback]

I can imagine that you would have some with your wet winter climate. Do you get a lot of them that is just sludge? I.e snow saturated with water?
These move really fast and are very deadly...

The avalanches in the peak couple of years ago were actually cornice collapses, we seem to get a lot of slab avalanches.

http://www.sais.gov.uk/about-avalanches.asp this may help to explain our avalanche stats

[rawfish111]

Last one I saw was in the Alps when skiing with the mob. We weren't involved and only saw things from a distance but awesomely powerful and scary stuff.

[Silverback]

We train in the snow with buried bodies using the dogs, amazingly without training many of them will instinctively dig always towards the face....after indicating & leading the handler in !

[FishyFolk]

We train in the snow with buried bodies using the dogs, amazingly without training many of them will instinctively dig always towards the face....after indicating & leading the handler in !

I know. been clawed in the face by one of them dogs. This was before I wised up and stopped volunteering for those kinds of things...lol

[Silverback]

I know. been clawed in the face by one of them dogs. This was before I wised up and stopped volunteering for those kinds of things...lol

Its an important job.....cant train the dogs without the people who play casualty..we call them 'Dogsbodies'

[FishyFolk]

Its an important job.....cant train the dogs without the people who play casualty..we call them 'Dogsbodies'

Well, well, I may have to again. As the oldest stepson turned 18 last month. he is a member of the Red Cross Youth, and is itching to join the rescue serviceces as a volunteer :-)

Thats one of the reasons I am kitting up so much. He need some kit too, and some of it we can share, except for the stuff he need to keep ready and packed...