An Avalanche That Collapses On Norwegian Snowmobilers

[christopher]

An Avalanche That Collapses On Norwegian Snowmobilers

This is pretty dramatic footage of an avalanche that catches snowmobilers watching from the bottom of the hill.

A group was engulfed by a huge avalanche near Tromso and it was all captured on video. They tried to out run the slide but failed. Fortunately everyone was found alive.

The group was out on their snowmobiles on a blue sky day after a recent fall of powder.
One of them heads up into the snow pack and sets off a massive avalanche that engulfs those at the bottom.
The video was shot by 20-year old, Magnus.
Despite being hit by the avalanche, Magnus, and everyone else involved were able to dig themselves out and were none the worse for their close call.
Just another reminder to stay safe.


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[christopher]

Wonder why it was that he didn't PIN IT the moment he tried to outrun the avalanche??

Amazingly lucky to walk away from this..

Anyone else have further details?

 

[christopher]

Nothing much happens at the start of the video above, shot a couple of hours north of the city of Tromso in Norway. But wait until it reaches the one minute mark.
You see a guy on a snowmobile power his way up the snow-covered slope that looks perfect for skiing or snowboarding down, but as he reaches the top disaster strikes. Whether it be the noise from his engine, all those tracks in the snow, or just a weak layer below freshly-fallen snow, it all added up to the start of an avalanche.
From the point of view of the cameraman, it’s quite far away (maybe 200 meters?) and he has plenty of time to get on his own snowmobile and bury the throttle. Luckily for us he keeps the camera pointed behind him.
As you can see, it doesn’t take long for the avalanche to engulf the first snowmobile and then catch up with him (avalanches can reach speeds of 150km/h). Anyone seeing an avalanche start is going to instinctively run in the opposite direction, but as this shows, even with a powerful motor underneath you your chances of escaping are limited at best. In this instance he would have fared better by making a sharp left and heading for that smaller peak.

Apparently the guy with the camera was carried around 700 meters by the avalanche and thrown around the entire time. Thankfully he and his friends came out the other side unharmed.
By all accounts this was a pretty small avalanche and they were extremely lucky. A larger flow or a steeper hill and it could have been a very different story.
via Dagbladet.no (translated)

 

[550iq]

Thank goodness for rule #1, one person on the slope at a time. Thanks for the video feed Christopher. We need more of this kind of educational material.
550iq