It’s spring once again, but nothing can stop you from going on vacation in the snow. However, the danger of getting caught in an avalanche is eminent during this season. So here are some facts you need to know to fully understand an avalanche.
An avalanche or “snow slide” is any amount of snow that slides down the side of a mountain. It can be compared to a landslide, but only with snow instead of dirt. It gains more speed and power as it gets closer to the bottom of the slope, making even the smallest snow slides very dangerous.
There are two types of avalanche. The first is known as a surface avalanche. It occurs when a layer of snow with different properties slides over another layer of snow. The second is called a full depth avalanche which occurs when an entire layer of snow, from the ground to the surface, slides over the ground.
Why happens? The accumulated snow on the surface cannot bear the full weight. When other factors are introduced, such as tremors from a person’s footsteps, the snow loosens and an avalanche occurs. Other factors include major temperature changes, rapid wind speeds, and man-made influences.
Spring conditions may be the time of year when there are frequent avalanches, but once a regular cycle of freezing and melting is established, its stability is easier to predict compared to the cold winter months.
Freezing at night and melting during the day is a classic spring process. During the freezing phase, the snow cover is stronger. It turns water into ice when the temperature drops below freezing, creating a “skeleton” that holds the snow cover together. Then, as the sun rises (warming east-facing slopes first), the melting phase occurs, melting the ice skeleton that holds the snowpack together.
Under freeze-thaw conditions, the snowpack is strongest during the freezing phase and weakest during the melting phase. Between these phases, skiing conditions are moderately safe, as long as people haven’t been in the area too late the day before.
The question now is: How to avoid getting caught in an avalanche during your ski trip? The most common way to avoid one is to recognize where it is most likely to occur. If you understand when there is a high chance of an avalanche, you are less likely to experience one. The key is knowing how the path of an avalanche appears. Most of its paths are obvious, appearing as an open slope, bowl, or ravine shape. Other common signs are bent or damaged trees.
It is imperative to understand the possible dangers you may encounter during your ski vacation. An avalanche is not a common phenomenon, so you must be prepared at all times.
