 Poster: A snowHead
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Three deaths in Austria today in separate incidents. One in Damüls, one in Kleinwalsertal and one which happened yetsreday in Tirol. In the incident in Tirol the rescue teams were only able to get to the victim today!
In the incident in Damüls a 22 year old snowboarder skied into a slope that was closed for avalanche danger. His group had already skied the slope twice, but on the third run the slab released and buried one of them. None of them was wearing a transceiver!
In the incident in Kleinwalsertal a 41 year old skier skied into a popular powder run and released a slab. The avalanche situation was so extreme that the rescue services had to dynamite the slope before attempting to search for the victim! He was found after having been buried for three hours.
Lech had a lucky escape when an avalanche went down over the piste in the Mohnenfluh area, covering the piste over a length of 120 meters. Pure luck that nobody was buried!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Wow, bad weekend for Austria. Very sad indeed. And perhaps a timely reminder to Christmas skiers that slopes are very often closed for a reason.
Take care out there guys.
D
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Aborted a ski tour yesterday because the avy level was very high (level 4) http://www.lawine-steiermark.at/ . There were also strong winds and some avalanches had already been triggered in the area. Skied breakable crust in the resort most of the day instead. It's just not worth the risk at the moment esp as the powder is either damp, wind pressed or been blown away. More snow is forecast and temps are forecast to drop. Avy danger is forecast to drop down to level 2 in certain ares from Wednesday onwards, probably best to stay onpiste until then.
Salzburg is level 4
http://www.lwz-salzburg.org/defaultnew.asp
Tirol is level 3
http://www.lawine.at/tirol/index.html
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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No surprises, lots of snow followed by rain. Now the biggest problem comes. Freezing,new slow & off piste skiers who have no idea. After then next snowfall (not known yet) the Avi danger will be the most lethal .
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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stanton, what do you mean when you say the next snowfall will be "most lethal". I assume the rain and warmth will settle the current snow pack quite quickly. Are you inferring when the snow freezes there will be a particularly slippery surface layer due to all the wetness that the new will bond to very well?
Last edited by Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do. on Tue 23-12-08 6:52; edited 1 time in total
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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waynos, gotta listen to the expert from Holland. He knows more about snow n mountains n stuff than you will ever do 
It turns out the 41 year old in Kleinwalsertal also skied into a slope that was closed because of avalanche danger! I know that slope very well, and it is not possible to get into it without skiing under all the ropes and signs saying don't do it. He was also not wearing a transceiver, and was off piste on his own in Level 4 conditions. What can you say?
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Steilhang, Simply asking a quetion mate, never said I knew more than anyone or accused anyone else of not knowing stuff about stuff.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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| waynos wrote: |
| stanton, what do you mean when you say the next snowfall will be "most lethal". I assume the rain and warmth will settle the current snow pack quite quickly. Are you inferring when the snow freezes there will be a particularly slippery surface layer due to all the wetness that the new will bond to very well? |
Rain on snow. Then freeze. Gives nice hard slippery surface.
Then a big dump of powder. The powder will turn into its own slab layer, sitting on top of the slippery surface described above. Given the right (wrong) conditions - like a skier going over it - the slab will slide off leaving the underlayer beneath.
You can demonstrate this for yourself (don't try it on a piste though!). Take a 45 degree sloped mountain. Dig a pit in the snow with your iceaxe so that the rear wall of the pit is vertical. 2' wide and as deep as seems necessary. Given the above described situation the top layer will slip off, giving you a nice mini-avalanche.
At which point, go back to cafe and drink vin chaud!
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| Steilhang wrote: |
.....
Lech had a lucky escape when an avalanche went down over the piste in the Mohnenfluh area, covering the piste over a length of 120 meters. Pure luck that nobody was buried! |
I guess that must be the Mohnenmahder piste. At the end of last week, the visibility was poor but quite a lot of people were using the lower part (below the Hasenprung lift) because the wind was fierce on the upper slopes, especially at Kriegerhorn and Steinmadher. As you say, a lucky escape that no one caught by it.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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Steilhang,
"What can you say?".... 'Darwin awards candidates' is what I'd be sadly forced to say.
And on a totally different subject, we were skiing trees yesterday, and on entering a clearing encountered two bobcats walking calmly across our path. One was smaller than the other so I assume Mr & Mrs... I've seen several bobcats in Whistler over the years singly, one actually walking up the road outside my house one morning in the summer. But never a pair. It definitely made our Christmas day.
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I've just got back to work after the Christmas break to find that one of the guys killed was a colleague!
Shocked to say the least!
Apparently he was off piste with a guide and was carried a long way off before being buried!
Shocked and a bit horrified, my thoughts are with his family
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You know it makes sense.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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| cinglis wrote: |
I've just got back to work after the Christmas break to find that one of the guys killed was a colleague!
Shocked to say the least!
Apparently he was off piste with a guide and was carried a long way off before being buried!
Shocked and a bit horrified, my thoughts are with his family |
Sorry to hear that, in which resort did this avalanche happen?
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Poster: A snowHead
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| DB wrote: |
| cinglis wrote: |
I've just got back to work after the Christmas break to find that one of the guys killed was a colleague!
Shocked to say the least!
Apparently he was off piste with a guide and was carried a long way off before being buried!
Shocked and a bit horrified, my thoughts are with his family |
Sorry to hear that, in which resort did this avalanche happen? |
I believe he was in Alberg, I haven't seen any specific news reports about it, so I'll keep the details to the minimum as I can only presume there are reasons for this.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| cinglis wrote: |
| DB wrote: |
| cinglis wrote: |
I've just got back to work after the Christmas break to find that one of the guys killed was a colleague!
Shocked to say the least!
Apparently he was off piste with a guide and was carried a long way off before being buried!
Shocked and a bit horrified, my thoughts are with his family |
Sorry to hear that, in which resort did this avalanche happen? |
I believe he was in Alberg, I haven't seen any specific news reports about it, so I'll keep the details to the minimum as I can only presume there are reasons for this. |
Sorry to hear about that. I think your friend must have been killed in a different incident though. None of the deaths reported here was in the Arlberg region.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Yes, that was him, I hadn't seen that thread, he was British but held dual nationalitys, and had been here for 18 months.
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FAQ
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