Avalanches Keep It Too Real

A post by "BEZ " To see more posts click here

Yesterday, a 27-year-old woman was skiing at Snowbird (a resort near Alta) when an avalanche struck and carried her off of a nearby cliff, burying her in an ample amount of snow. Authorities and rescue teams sought out the victims that lay in the wake of the avalanche.  Unfortunately they were unable to get to the woman in time to save her life; she died soon after being recovered.  The scary thing about this instance is that the woman was within the boundaries of the ski area. Her death was the first “in-bounds” casualty at Snowbird since 1977.

With that said, the real danger occurs when people ski in isolated areas (back-country skiing). There have also been times when cars are struck by avalanches when driving up or down the mountain that leads to the two resorts, but these are more rare.

Snow falls on the Alta/Snowbird area at a rate of more than 500 inches every year. This makes mountain avalanches quite common during times of heavy snowfall, occasionally resulting in property damage and loss of human life. Most buildings in this area are built with reinforced concrete to avoid collapse in the event of an avalanche.

The death of the skier was a freak accident, but it stands to make everyone more aware of the real dangers we face in everyday life– a wake up call of sorts.

food for thought..