Avalanche Fears Loom Over the West
In a season that already has seen avalanches, more could be on the way.
Jan. 2, 2008 — -- As another winter storm heads toward Colorado and prepares to dump more snow, some have increased avalanche fears in a season where there seems to be more than usual.
In much of the West, avalanche warnings have popped up this winter like daisies in the spring.
Like a freight train of tumbling snow and ice, avalanches tackle anything in their path and can travel more than 80 mph. The forces of nature kill hundreds of skiers, hikers and snowmobilers annually, and this season already has gotten off to a howling start.
Several stories about them have grabbed the headlines, including a New Year's Eve avalanche that buried a snowmobiler and his family in Utah.
"We were able to uncover him and the snowmobile," said Ron Hazzard, of Wasatch County, Utah Search & Rescue. "We started CPR immediately."
The man had been buried for nearly an hour and later died at the hospital. He was the third person killed by an avalanche in Utah in the last eight days.
"It is a huge, powerful force. It strains you through trees. You hit rocks. A quarter of avalanche fatalities occur from trauma," said Forest Service Avalanche Center director Bruce Tremper.
Just last week an 11-year-old survived after an avalanche buried him on his winter break. Max Zilvitis was buried alive when a powerful avalanche trapped him under the snow for 33 minutes. He was pulled out unconscious and not breathing but miraculously survived.
"I remember being under the snow for a little bit, but then I lost consciousness, and then I woke up in the hospital," he said.
How Avalanches Happen
Avalanches are caused when heavy, new snow piles on top of older, weaker layers.
"When you overload a very weak layer with a strong slab," Tremper said, "the whole slab slides like a magazine sliding off on an inclined table."
"Ninety-three percent of avalanche accidents, they are triggered by the victim or someone in the victim's party," Tremper added.
In February, professional snowboarder Chris Coulter actually rode out an avalanche and lived to tell about it.
"There was about three times through the whole thing where I was like, 'I'm dead. This is it. I'm done,'" he said. "The force those things have is unbelievable. … It was just so powerful, it picked me up and kind of flipped me around."
Had he been dragged under, the outcome would have been far worse.
"If you are completely buried under the snow, you die very quickly — within the first 15 minutes — because the carbon dioxide builds up in the snow around your mouth," Tremper said.
Protecting Yourself
Ninety-five percent of avalanche victims die within the first two hours. So if you are in an area where avalanches can occur, experts offer several important tips.
Before going out, check avalanche conditions and always travel in a group. You also shouldn't forget to carry avalanche rescue gear.
The latest in avalanche survival gear is an inflatable air bag, worn in a backpack. You pull the cord and it inflates like an automobile's air bag would. It not only will protect your body from trauma, but it also will leave a much larger area for you to breathe in should you become trapped beneath the snow.
"If you don't carry rescue gear it will be very, very difficult to dig somebody out in an avalanche in time to save their life," Tremper said.