An avalanche is a rapid flow of snow down a slope, such as a hill or mountain. Avalanches can be triggered spontaneously, by factors such as increased precipitation or snowpack weakening, or by external means such as humans, other animals, and earthquakes. Primarily composed of flowing snow and air, large avalanches have the capability to capture and move ice, rocks, and trees.
Buachaille Etive Mòr, Scottish Gaelic: Buachaille Èite Mòr, 'great herdsman of Etive'), also known simply in English as 'The Buachaille', is a mountain at the head of Glen Etive in the Highlands of Scotland. Its pyramidal shape, as seen from the northeast, makes it one of the most recognisable mountains in Scotland, and one of the most depicted on postcards and calendars.
Borah Peak, also known as Mount Borah or Beauty Peak, is a mountain in the western United States and the highest summit in Idaho. One of the most prominent peaks in the contiguous United States, it is located in the central section of the Lost River Range, within the Challis National Forest in eastern Custer County. On February 11, 2021, the USGS officially recognized Mt. Borah as Idaho's only active glacier.
Huascarán, Nevado Huascarán or Mataraju is a mountain located in Yungay Province, Department of Ancash, Peru. It is situated in the Cordillera Blanca range of the western Andes. The southern summit of Huascarán, which reaches 6,768 metres (22,205 ft), is the highest point in Peru, the northern Andes, and in all of the earth's Tropics. Huascarán is the 4th highest mountain in South America after Aconcagua, Ojos del Salado, and Monte Pissis. Huascarán is ranked 25th by topographic isolation.
Marmolada is a mountain in northeastern Italy and the highest mountain of the Dolomites. It lies between the borders of Trentino and Veneto. The Marmolada is an ultra-prominent peak (Ultra), known as the "Queen of the Dolomites". In 2009, as part of the Dolomites, the Marmolada massif was named a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Heli-skiing is off-trail, downhill skiing or snowboarding where the skier reaches the top of the mountain by helicopter, instead of a ski lift.
The Galtür avalanche occurred on 23 February 1999 in the Alpine village of Galtür, Austria. At 50 m (160 ft) high and traveling at 290 km/h (180 mph), the powder avalanche overturned cars, destroyed buildings and buried 57 people. By the time rescue crews managed to arrive, 31 people had died. It was considered the worst Alpine avalanche in 40 years. Three major weather systems originating from the Atlantic accounted for large snowfalls totaling around four meters in the area. Freeze-thaw conditions created a weak layer on top of an existing snow pack; further snow was then deposited on top. This, coupled with high wind speeds, created large snow drifts and caused roughly 170,000 tons of snow to be deposited.
Jackson Hole Mountain Resort (JHMR) is a ski resort in the western United States, at Teton Village, Wyoming. In the Teton Range of the Rocky Mountains, it is located in Teton County, twelve miles (20 km) northwest of Jackson and due south of Grand Teton National Park.
The Blons avalanches took place in Austria in January 1954. They occurred in the federal state of Vorarlberg, where they had a big impact on the Great Walser Valley region and specifically, the village of Blons. The avalanches occurred over a two-day period beginning from 11 January 1954 and resulted in the death of 125 people, 57 of whom were killed specifically in Blons. Two big avalanches struck Blons within 9 hours, the second of which buried rescue workers who were attempting to save civilians from the first avalanche. The avalanches caused much destruction to the Blons village, damaging one third of housing infrastructure and killing one third of the population. The Blons avalanches are considered to be one of the worst mass burials in Austrian history, resulting in one of the highest number of fatalities due to an avalanche.
Charles Bozon Jr. was an alpine ski racer and world champion from France.
The 2009 Afghan avalanches occurred near Kabul, Afghanistan on 16 January 2009. At least ten people were killed and twelve vehicles and machinery used to clear the road of snow were swept away when the avalanche struck a highway. Forty people were rescued, eleven of whom were injured by the avalanches. The avalanches struck the Salang tunnel, the main highway linking southern and northern Afghanistan in the middle of the Hindu Kush mountains, at an altitude of 4,450 metres (14,600 ft). Searchers spent the next two days and beyond locating the victims.
The 2009 Buachaille Etive Mòr avalanche happened on Buachaille Etive Mòr in Glen Coe in the Scottish Highlands, UK, on 24 January 2009. Three mountain climbers were killed and one sustained a serious shoulder injury. Two of the dead were from Northern Ireland and the other was from Scotland. Nine people from at least three countries in at least two parties were involved in the incident on a mountain that is well recognised by tourists to Scotland. While avalanches are not uncommon in the area, very few deaths are reported—this incident has been described as "one of the worst disasters in the Scottish mountains for decades".
The 2009 Zigana avalanche was an avalanche that occurred on 25 January at around 11:15 local time on Mount Zigana, Gümüşhane Province in north-eastern Turkey. It struck a group of 17 hikers at a height of 2,200 m (7,200 ft) near the site of a small ski resort. The snow mass dragged the hikers about 1,000 m (3,300 ft) into a valley. Ten people were killed, one person was rescued with injuries and another one died in hospital while five others survived without injuries.
The Königspitze is a mountain of the Ortler Alps on the border between South Tyrol and the Province of Sondrio (Lombardy), Italy. After the Ortler, it is the second highest peak in the Ortler Alps, at a height of 3,851m.
The 2009 Schalfkogel avalanche was an avalanche which occurred in Sölden, Austria, on 2 May 2009. Six people were killed, five Czechs and one Slovak, when the disaster struck in the 3,500-metre (11,500 ft) Schalfkogel mountain range. The corpses were discovered to have been frozen upon recovery. It was the deadliest avalanche to have occurred in Austria since March 2000. Although avalanches are a regular occurrence in the region, they mainly kill individuals as opposed to entire groups.
André Roch was a Swiss mountaineer, avalanche researcher and expert, skier, resort developer, engineer, and author. Roch is best known for having planned and surveyed the Aspen, Colorado, ski resort, and also as an adviser on avalanche management whose expertise was sought throughout the world.
Alnus alnobetula is a common tree widespread across much of Europe, Asia, and North America. Many sources refer to it as Alnus viridis, the green alder, but botanically this is considered an illegitimate name synonymous with Alnus alnobetula subsp. fruticosa.
The 2016 Geier avalanche was an avalanche which occurred in Wattenberg, Austria, on 6 February 2016. Five people were killed, when the disaster struck in the 2,800-metre (9,200 ft) Geier mountain range. The avalanche occurred shortly after midday near the mountain hut Lizumer Hütte. This was one of 19 avalanches reported in Tyrol on 6 February. The avalanche risk level in Tyrol was three out of a possible five, deemed "considerable".
On the afternoon of 18 January 2017, a major avalanche occurred on Gran Sasso d'Italia massif, one of the mountains above Rigopiano, impacting and destroying the four-star Hotel Rigopiano in Farindola, Abruzzo. The impact killed twenty-nine people and injured eleven others, making the avalanche the deadliest in Italy since the White Friday avalanches in 1916, and the deadliest avalanche in Europe since the Galtür avalanche in 1999.
Events from the year 2009 in Austria
