Do you know what happened in the mountains this week? Here’s a selection of news, articles, posts, videos, photos, and other cool things that we think you’d like to know about. Enjoy!
- Two Off Piste Skiers Killed In Avalanche Near Verbier, Switzerland – A Mountain Journey – A group of four skiers triggered an avalanche while skiing in the trees near Verbier, Switzerland. Two skiers died in the avalanche and two others are lucky to be alive. RIP.
- Avalanche Kills Snowboarder On Hatcher Pass In Alaska – A Mountain Journey – A snowboarder was buried and killed in an avalanche on Skyscraper Mountain near Hatcher Pass. RIP.
- Three Dead After Avalanche Hits School Group In French Alps – A Mountain Journey – A deadly avalanche on a closed piste at Les Deux Alpes hit a French school group of ten students with one teacher. Two French teenagers and a Ukranian skier died in the avalanche. The teacher will face manslaughter charges. RIP.
- Injured British Climber Rescued In New Zealand After Using PLB To Alert UK Authorities – A Mountain Journey – When a British climber fell on Mount Mabel on New Zealand’s South Island, he used a PLB to notify authorities on the other side of the world, who then arranged rescue in the remote mountains of NZ. PLBs rule!
- Avalanche Kills Two Italian Cross Country Skiers In Swiss Alps – A Mountain Journey – Three cross country skiers triggered an avalanche near Maederluecke Pass in the Swiss Alps. Two died and one survived. RIP.
- Skier Loses Handgun In Crash, Gets It Back – Jackson Hole News & Guide – Since it’s common to lose your loaded handgun while on the slopes, it’s nice to know that it’s easy to get it back too.
- 14 Killed In Japan Ski Bus Crash Today – SnowBrains.com – At least 14 people died when a ski bus crashed near Nagano, Japan. RIP.
- Avalanche à Tignes 13/01/16 – YouTube – Here’s some great avalanche footage from Tignes this week.
- Backcountry Skier Rescued From The Sugar Bowls; – 9News.com – A solo skier had an equipment malfunction in Aspen’s Buttermilk Ski Area backcountry and needed rescue.
- Dynafit Introduces The TLT7: Next Generation Of Ski Touring Boot – Snowsports.org – Say goodbye to the TLT6 and make room for the TLT7. These ski boots look super cool!
- 3 Skiers Trigger Avalanche In St. Regis Basin On ID-MT Border – One Injured – A Mountain Journey – Three skiers left the Lookout Pass Ski Area and triggered a large avalanche that partially buried and injured one.
- Watch: Motorists Flee As Avalanche Overtakes Road – UnofficialNetworks.com – Watch as a large avalanche hits the road near Randa, Switzerland.
- 2 Backcountry Skiers Rescued In Boulder County – 9News.com – Two experienced backcountry skiers had to be rescued near the Old Caribou Townsite.
- Yosemite To Rename Several Iconic Places – OutsideOnline.com – You may not recognize all of the names in Yosemite next time you visit. A park concessionaire is suing the National Park Service for $51 million for a variety of trademarked names associated with Yosemite National Park.
- Minnesota Ski Resort To Allow Lift Access Downhill Fat Biking – UnofficialNetworks.com – Spirit Mountain in Duluth, Minnesota is planning to allow lift access downhill fat biking. Thoughts?
- Record Calls To Search And Rescue Over Holidays – WhistlerQuestion.com – Whistler Search and Rescue was super busy over the holidays – mostly by calls from skiers in the Cheakamus River Valley – a backcountry area accessed from the resort. Be careful out there!
- Ultra Runner Pandit Felicitated – Kathmandu Post – Are you really good at walking backwards? Mountaineer Sanjaya Pandit is. Pandit climbed Mt Kilimanjaro by walking backwards. Congrats.
- Chilling Footage Of Snowboarder Buried Alive In Deep Snow – UnofficialNetworks.com – Snow immersion incidents are terrifying. Be careful out there!
- 2 Separate Large Avalanches Cover Towns In Italy & France, Today & Yesterday – SnowBrains.com – Avalanches in the Alps hit towns this week! Watch as a Bressans, France gets hit by a powder cloud. Also check out photos of Cervinia, Italy getting hit too. Crazy.
- Ski Instructor Missing Near Sugar Bowl Resort In California – A Mountain Journey – Sugar Bowl ski instructor Carson May went missing on Thursday after skiing at Sugar Bowl Resort in the Tahoe area. Rescuers are focusing their search in a high risk avalanche area outside of the resort boundaries. Cross your fingers on this one.
- FatMap Launches 3D Mountain Maps On Your iPhone | #foreveryline – UnofficialNetworks.com – Get ready for the ultimate mountain adventure. FatMap is launching 3D maps for North American resorts. Check this app out.
- Skier Reports Avalanche At Bridger Bowl – NBC Montana – This headline is misleading. This avalanche actually happened in a popular lift accessed backcountry area near Bridger Bowl called the Football Field. What’s interesting is that this area slid for a second time on facets near the ground – repeat offender. Scary.
- Local Trio Makes Landmark Ski Descent From Mount Si Summit – EastofSeattle.News – A crew of skiers ticked off a ski descent of Mount Si near Bend, Oregon. Very cool ski descent.
- Vertical Limit: Can A Kid From Mass. Top Greg Hill’s Two Million-Foot Record – Backcountry Magazine – Aaron Rice is shooting for 2.5 million vertical feet of human powered uphill this year. This will beat Greg Hill’s long standing record. We’re cheering for you dude!
What did we miss? Let us know in the comments below. Have an awesome week!
