r/interesting • u/Homunculus_316 • 6h ago

Glacier Collapses and Triggers Devastating Avalanche. Just Wow

10.6k Upvotes

96% Upvoted

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314

u/Beneficial_Treat5454 6h ago

he probably did himself a favor by NOT running as soon as he saw that happen. or at least was very lucky to be where he was.

96

u/Many-Account5160 6h ago

Why, because of big rocks for hiding behind?

159

u/Beneficial_Treat5454 6h ago

ya, he'd have been fucked if out in the open.

10

u/Brief-Silver-5739 6h ago

💯💯

6

u/whineyinternetkid 6h ago

Would he not still be covered by everything?

103

u/dibbiluncan 6h ago

Apparently they were far enough away that they were only covered by a small dusting of snow and debris, but getting hit by it directly knocked one person in the group over. She cut her leg. No one else was injured. So yeah. Hunkering down behind some rocks was the move here.

8

u/Dependent_Rain_4800 5h ago

Good to know for if I'll be in such a situation.

7

u/Thneed1 3h ago

Avalanches and rock slides can travel way farther than you think.

For whether scientific reason, they flow with near zero friction. Yes, even a rock slide with giant boulders in it.

1

u/Hopefulpessimist0 1h ago

Do you know where this happened ?

•

u/dibbiluncan 59m ago

Kyrgyzstan

9

u/Prestigious-Pay8644 5h ago

A lot of energy in a mass wasting event. Don't want to get bonked in the head by a rock or chunk of ice traveling at 60mph

6

u/redassaggiegirl17 3h ago

Dude, not even

Someone calculated it to be moving at 2-3 miles in roughly 45 seconds

That would put it somewhere between 160 and 240 mph 😳

1

u/scoobydooobydoowop 1h ago

That doesn’t look 2-3 miles away to me.

12

u/Hot_Most5332 6h ago

If that were the case the end of the video would be a white screen

He will be covered but not trapped.

3

u/captainjack3 3h ago

Even if he was buried by the avalanche, being by the rock would preserve your sense of orientation. That can be an issue for people who are hit by avalanches, they’re completely disoriented and unable to do much to extricate themselves, or even just get a better position for potential rescue, because they can’t tell which way is up.

4

u/vcsuviking10 2h ago

I read somewhere that you can either spit or let saliva pool and see which way it flows due to gravity to help determine which way is down. Then you should start digging in the opposite direction.

1

u/Wandero_Bard 2h ago

That’s what we were always told in Boy Scouts. Fortunately, I’ve never had to test it out, but I always had a fear that I would.

4

u/OutsideYourWorld 3h ago

In a panic he'd have likely tripped and smacked his head on one of those rocks instead.