It’s spring once again, but nothing can stop you from going on a skiing vacation. However, the danger of being 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. You gain more speed and power as you get closer to the bottom of the incline, making even the smallest of snow slides very dangerous.
There are two types of avalanches. 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 that occurs when a complete 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 in a person’s footsteps, the snow loosens and an avalanche occurs. Other factors include major changes in temperature, fast wind speed, and man-made influences.
Spring conditions can be the time of year when there are frequent avalanches, but once a regular freeze-melt cycle is established, predicting its stability is easier 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 at its strongest. 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 (heating the east-facing slopes first), the melting phase occurs, melting the ice skeleton that holds the snow cover together.
Under freezing and melting conditions, the snow cover is strongest during the freezing phase and weakest during the melting phase. Between these phases, ski conditions are moderately safe, as long as people have not been in that area too late the day before.
The question now is: How do you 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 probability of an avalanche, you are less likely to experience it. The key is to know how the path of an avalanche appears. Most of its paths are obvious, appearing in the form of an open slope, bowl, or ravine. Other common signs are bent or damaged trees.
It is imperative to understand the possible dangers that you may encounter during your ski vacation. An avalanche is not a common phenomenon, so you must be prepared all the time.