That's what you would think if you read a Boston Globe everyday as I do, dear readers.
"Man survives 17 hours under avalanche" by Associated Press | February 8, 2010
EVOLENE, Switzerland - A skier was buried beneath an avalanche for 17 hours in the Swiss Alps before being pulled from the snow with only mild hypothermia, police said yesterday.
The 21-year-old man appeared to have survived because he was trapped next to a pocket of air that allowed him to breathe even though he was unable to free himself from the crushing weight of the snow, police in the southern canton of Valais said.
A terrifying experience, no doubt.
“I’ve never heard of such a case before,’’ said police spokesman Jean-Marie Bornet. “It’s already very difficult to survive more than 45 minutes beneath an avalanche.’’
The man, who had been skiing alone on an unmarked slope in the Evolene region about 50 miles east of Geneva, was reported missing by his family at 4:30 p.m. Saturday, police said.
They always tell you to go with a buddy!!
Rescuers with search dogs found ski tracks leading to where a large avalanche had come down but had to break off their search overnight for safety reasons.
Bless the howlers, huh?
Yesterday morning, a helicopter crew spotted movement on the surface and rescuers were able to pull the man out from beneath 20 inches of snow, said Bornet.
The unidentified Swiss skier has been hospitalized but appears to have suffered no serious injuries, Bornet said. “He’s a very lucky man,’’ he said.
Dozens of skiers are killed by avalanches in the Swiss Alps each year.Because of global warming, right?
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Must make the paper because it's an elite activity, huh?
Related:
GENEVA - Avalanches killed five people in the Swiss Alps over the weekend and bad weather prevented rescuers from reaching three skiers who apparently remained trapped under the snow yesterday, officials said....
Bad weather conditions meant rescuers had to call off foot and helicopter searches....
Officials are examining what triggered the two avalanches. One rescuer said the first may have been caused by skiers failing to keep a safe distance from each other on a steep slope. The second could have been triggered by the noise of rescue helicopters, said Bernhard Scherz, an official with the Rubigen ski club....
"3 more found dead after Swiss avalanche" by Associated Press | January 6, 2010
GENEVA - The bodies of three skiers missing after an avalanche in central Switzerland were found yesterday, raising to seven the death toll in the country’s worst avalanche disaster in more than a decade, rescue officials said....
An emergency operation involving eight helicopters and 100 rescuers was able to pull nine people from the snow. One man was already dead. Three others died in the hospital of their injuries. The earlier victims were identified as a German and three Swiss, one of whom was a rescue doctor who had flown in to help. Rescuers were unable to search for the remaining skiers Monday because fog and snow prevented them from safely accessing the mountainous area.
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I guess that is why all I get are mostly avalanche stories.
