Hochkarspitze, Austria – On February 21, 2018 a 64-year-old skier was caught and buried in an avalanche on the Hochkarspitze near St. Anton am Arlberg in the Landeck district of Austria. On Saturday, March 3, the man passed away from the injuries sustained in the avalanche while in the hospital in Innsbruck.
The avalanche occurred while a group of ski tourers were 50-80 meters below the summit of the Hochkarspitze. The group of 3 were caught by a 90-meter wide slab on a 40 degree slope. The group was dragged about 450 meters. Two people were partially buried and the victim was fully buried with only his hand sticking out for the snow.
The man was quickly rescued and flown to the hospital in Innsbruck. Unfortunately he did not survive.
Lawis.at reports that this avalanche occurred on 2018-02-21 at 11:18 on the Hochkarspitze in Hinterrendl in Austria. They recorded a Lat/Long of 47.1058°N / 10.2977°E. This is a 40 degree southwest aspect at 2700 meters. The size 3 slab avalanche measured 100 meters wide, 40 centimeters deep, and 450 meters long. Three people were caught. One was fully buried and two were partially buried.
We will try to update this post when more information is available.
See Also: Global Avalanche Accidents 2017/2018
Read more about the avalanche on the Hochkarspitze in Austria from the following sources:
Information in this post was found using Google Translate. There may be errors in this information. Please use the sources listed above to verify all facts.
