Avalanches Explained: How People Trigger Disasters
Just a little extra weight on a slab of snow can create a deadly, downhill force of nature.
Cartoon avalanches start with a snowball merrily rolling downhill, picking up more snow as it travels. That's not how it really works, say avalanche experts, which explains the deadly results of recent avalanches that caught hikers off guard in Nepal.
"Avalanches are a crazy thing," says Karl Birkeland, director of the U.S. Forest Service National Avalanche Center in Bozeman, Montana. "They are natural disasters that we can trigger ourselves."
In Nepal, blizzard-driven avalanches have been blamed for the death of hikers on the popular Annapurna trekking circuit this week. The Tourism Ministry reports that at least 23 people have died from the avalanches and from exposure afterward. (Related: "Dozen Or More Feared Dead in Himalayan Blizzard and Avalanches.")
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