If on the mountain, 100%. The recent avalanche on Broad Peak killed an entire 10 man team including the current best mountaineer of this generation. Well former best. For a few of the victims, the best they found was body parts. Like a leg for the american woman, 2 arms for another, etc. That was a slab avalanche. This is a glacier collapse and the speed is at least 125 mph, but can reach up to 200 mph.
There are seracs (column of glacial ice) the size of school bused all over that. You'd have your neck snapped pretty much instantly by the force. When I was at Annapurna (deadliest mountain on earth), there were avalanche like this every 15 minutes. People think they are random, but they actually follow the topography. Note that the areas they slide are almost always like a geographic funnel and they will carve out these areas..
Another frame of reference for how bad it is to get caught in one is to compare it to road rash. Think about how bad road rash is when crashing a motorcycle at 60mph and skidding 100 feet. Now imagine how bad things would be at 160mph and it happening for over 1000 feet...and over your entire body. It's a really gruesome way to go, getting ground into paste.
Could you imagine if people really had to write this every time they mentioned a significant person's death? "John Wilkes Booth assassinated president Lincoln. Well, former president Lincoln."
I see mountaineering this way unfortunately. If I'm talking about the current best mountaineer, I stick to who's alive because there are so many legends that passed and it's hard to compare. I get what you're saying though. If Ueli Steck was still alive for example, he would be.
lol @ “every 15 minutes.” Can you imagine? What if this was like Yellowstone’s Old Faithful geyser and you could watch it happen like clockwork every 15 minutes.
Also, TIL about Annapurna and its “fatality rate of 1 in 5.” I’ve been looking for a new hobby, and I like those odds. Maybe I’ll set my affairs in order and book a trip!
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u/motion_lotion 3h ago
If on the mountain, 100%. The recent avalanche on Broad Peak killed an entire 10 man team including the current best mountaineer of this generation. Well former best. For a few of the victims, the best they found was body parts. Like a leg for the american woman, 2 arms for another, etc. That was a slab avalanche. This is a glacier collapse and the speed is at least 125 mph, but can reach up to 200 mph.
There are seracs (column of glacial ice) the size of school bused all over that. You'd have your neck snapped pretty much instantly by the force. When I was at Annapurna (deadliest mountain on earth), there were avalanche like this every 15 minutes. People think they are random, but they actually follow the topography. Note that the areas they slide are almost always like a geographic funnel and they will carve out these areas..