I compiled my avalanche images from the Spring of 2010 into this one blog post. These photos show 4 different avalanches. The first six images show an avalanche in progress that I was able to capture by being in the right place at the right time. I was dropping off a climber and I had just crawled out of the Cub when I heard the explosion of snow behind me. Fortunately I had my camera in hand.
Avalanches are awesome beasts. I’ve had the privilege of surviving a few small avalanches while backcountry skiing, and the power of the small ones is purely awesome. The power in the larger avalanches is utterly terrifying. I’ve seen several avalanches like this one that appear to be bigger than normal, but when I fly over the debris pile 10 minutes later I can hardly make it out from any of the other debris piles. Then you realize just how dynamic these hills are. On a hot sunny Spring day in the Chugach mountains I could sell trips to watch these spectacles of power. You could honestly sit in a lawn chair and drink fruity adult beverages under a sun umbrella, while watching millions of tons of ice cascade off the cliffs 4000′ above. Of course you would want to give them lots of breathing room :o)
Below are several more random avalanche images from last Spring.
This last image was “the big one” talked about in my blog post from Nov 11, 2010. It nearly caused some serious stress in my life … this is actually categorized in my memory as a “near miss”. The photo with the three skiers was taken as I flew over head. This was a North facing cornice that unleashed near a camp we had on the Science glacier. The size of the skiers in-comparison to the snow chunks help give the proper perspective, in a world otherwise void of depth perception and size.
I enjoy listening to the thunder of avalanches almost as much as I enjoy observing them. I wish I could show you all the reality of these magnificent collisions of ice and rock.