Hovden, Norway – Just before 13:00 on Wednesday, January 4, 2017 an avalanche occurred at Hovden Ski Center in Aust-Agder in Norway. After an extensive search, authorities determined that no one was missing and that everyone was safe. Close call.
The avalanche was triggered by on skier who was “outside the ski tracks of the ski hill” (ABCNyheter.no) near the top of the mountain. The avalanche measured 60 meter by 40 meter. Tracks were seen in the avalanche area and the chairlift was closed. Twenty to thirty rescuers from mountain rescue, fire department, and other first responder groups responded. Rescue dogs arrived via helicopter from Sola. The area was searched multiple times by people and with search dogs.
Contact was made with the person who triggered the avalanche. No one was reported missing. At around 3pm authorities concluded that no one was buried or injured in the avalanche and ended the search.
Hovden Ski Center posts daily avalanche warnings at the lifts (NRK.no). On January 4, 2017, Varsom.no rated the avalanche danger as 2 out of 5 (“Moderate”).
According to Hovden.com, “The Hovden Alpine Centre offers you more than 34 kilometres of descent, a vertical drop of 420 metres, two 4-seat express lifts, five ski tows and a 2-seat chairlift. The lift capacity is 9000 persons per hour.”
Read more about the avalanche at Hovden from the following sources:
All 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.
