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Avalanche sweeps away piste basher at les Arcs
Posted: 24 December 2012 02:45 PM  
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A resort worker had a narrow escape at 10pm yesterday when his piste basher was hit by an avalanche on the Robert Blanc piste at Arcs 2000. The driver was able to jump from his machine before it was swetp over cliffs on the Aiguille Rouge. The driver was rescued by the CRS helicopter, without injury but in shock.

http://www.ledauphine.com/savoie/2012/12/24/arc-2000-une-avalanche-emporte-une-dameuse

 
 
Posted: 24 December 2012 04:33 PM   [ # 1 ]  
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Expensive grin

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SwissMountainLeader.com & B&B L’Epicéa, Leysin, Switzerland

 
 
Posted: 24 December 2012 04:55 PM   [ # 2 ]  
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I’d love to see a photo. The driver must be James Bond to have jumped from a moving ratrac onto the avalanche and escaped!

 
 
Posted: 24 December 2012 09:32 PM   [ # 3 ]  
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Most probably this was a wet snow avalanche and they tend to move fairly slowly, say 10 to 40 mph, rather than a fast moving dry snow slide where speeds can be over 80 mph. The photos from the slide at Crosets that stopped on the piste the other day look the same. There’s a potential to do a lot of damage but if you can move they can be avoidable. The most extreme examples occur at high latitudes where permafrost and spring melt combine to create perfect sliding surfaces and slow moving slides occur on slopes as low as 15°.. These are known to take out logging camps and the like.

I can probably see about 50 or 60 of slides like this from the window here currently (in daylight). Some are going full depth and I wonder if the ground is heating up which may create some pockets of danger later.

Crazy warm right now. 10° when I got up and 10° still now. No chance of a refreeze. Very difficult to find good places to go with people.

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Posted: 25 December 2012 02:35 PM   [ # 4 ]  
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A bit more info on France 3

http://alpes.france3.fr/2012/12/24/miracle-aux-arcs-2000-une-avalanche-emporte-une-dameuse-le-conducteur-est-indemne-170121.html

seems the Piste Basher stopped before going over cliffs but the driver didn’t dare get out of his cab, you can imagine the PGHM guy on the radio “nobody move, and nobody get out, neither, we’ve got a plan”.