An avalanche is a sudden rapid flow of snow down a slope, occurring when either natural triggers or human activity causes

a critical escalating transition from the slow equilibrium evolution of the snow pack. Typically occurring in mountainous terrain, an avalanche can mix air and water with the descending snow. Powerful avalanches have the capability to entrain ice, rocks, trees, and other material on the slope. Avalanches are primarily composed of flowing snow, and are distinct from mudslides, rock slides, and serac collapses on an icefall. In contrast to other natural events which can cause disasters, avalanches are not rare or random events and are endemic to any mountain range that accumulates a standing snow pack. In mountainous terrain avalanches are among the most serious objective hazards to life and property, with their destructive capability resulting from their potential to carry an enormous mass of snow rapidly over large distances. Avalanches are classified by their morphological characteristics, and are rated by either their destructive potential, or the mass of the downward flowing snow. Some of the morphological characteristics used to classify avalanches include the type of snow involved, the nature of the failure, the sliding surface, the propagation mechanism of the failure, the trigger of the avalanche, the slope angle, direction, and elevation. Avalanche size, mass, and destructive potential are rated on a logarithmic scale, typically of 5 categories, with the precise definition of the categories depending on the observation system or forecast region.

Formation and Occurrences

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Avalanches only occur when the stress on the snow exceeds the shear, ductile, and tensile strength either within the snow pack or at the contact of the base of the snow pack with the ground or rock surface. A number of the forces acting on a snow pack can be readily determined. For example, the weight of the snow is straightforward to calculate but it is very difficult to estimate the shear, ductile and tensile strengths within the snow pack or relative to the ground below. These strengths vary with the type of snow crystal and the bonding between them. The thermo-mechanical properties of the snow crystals in turn depend on the local conditions they have experienced such as temperature and humidity. One of the aims of avalanche research is to develop and validate computer models that can describe the time evolution of snow packs and predict the shear yield stress. A complicating factor is tClassification and Terminology All avalanches share common elements: a trigger which causes the avalanche, a start zone from which the avalanche originates, a slide path along which the avalanche flows, a run out where the avalanche comes to rest, and a debris deposit which is the accumulated mass of the avalanched snow once it has come to rest. As well avalanches have a failure layer that propagates the failure

and the bed surface along which the snow initially slides, in most avalanches the failure layer and the bed surface are the same. Additionally slab avalanches have a crown fracture at the top of the start zone, flank fractures on the sides of the start zones, and a shallow staunch fracture at the bottom of the start zone. The crown and flank fractures are vertical walls in the snow delineating the snow that was entrained in the avalanche from the snow that remained on the slope. The nature of the failure of the snow pack is used to morphologically classify the avalanche. Slab avalanches are generated when an additional load causes a brittle failure of a slab that is bridging a weak snow layer; this failure is propagated through fracture formation in the bridging slab. Loose snow, point release, and isothermal avalanches are generated when a stress causes a shear failure in a weak interface, either within the snow pack, or at the base. When the failure occurs at the base they are known as full depth avalanches. Spin drift avalanches occur when wind lifted snow is funneled into a steep drainage from above the drainage. Loose snow avalanches occur in freshly fallen snow that has a lower density and are most common on steeper terrain. In fresh, loose snow the release is usually at a point and the avalanche then gradually widens down the slope as more snow is entrained, usually forming a teardrop appearance. This is in contrast to a slab avalanche. Slab avalanches account for around 90% of avalanche-related fatalities, and occur when there is a strong, cohesive layer of snow known as a slab. These are usually formed when falling snow is deposited by the wind on a lee slope, or when loose ground snow is transported elsewhere. When there is a failure in a weak layer, a fracture very rapidly propagates so that a large area, that can be hundreds of meters in extent and several meters thick, starts moving almost instantaneously. A third starting type is a wet snow avalanche or isothermal avalanche, which occurs when the snow pack becomes saturated by water. These tend to also start and spread out from a point. When the percentage of water is very high they are known as slush flows and they can move on very shallow slopes. Among the largest and most powerful of avalanches, powder snow avalanches can exceed speeds of 300 km/h, and masses of 10,000,000 tonnes; their flows can travel long distances along flat valley bottoms and even up hill for short distances. A powder snow avalanche is a powder cloud that forms when an avalanche accelerates over an abrupt change in slope, such as a cliff band, causing the snow to mix with air. This turbulent suspension of snow particles then flows as a gravity current. he large spatial variability that is typical

Weather

After digging a snow pit, it is possible to evaluate the snowpack for unstable layers. In this picture, snow from a weak layer has been easily scraped away by hand, leaving a horizontal line in the wall of the pit.

Avalanches can only occur in a standing snow pack. Typically winter seasons and high altitudes have weather that is sufficiently unsettled and cold enough for precipitated snow to accumulate into a snow pack. The evolution of the snow pack is critically sensitive to small variations within the narrow range of meteorological conditions that allow for the accumulation of snow into a snow pack. Among the critical factors controlling snow pack evolution are: heating by the sun, radiational cooling, vertical temperature gradients in standing snow, snowfall amounts, and snow types. Generally, mild winter weather will promote the settlement and stabilization of the snow pack; and conversely very cold, windy, or hot weather will weaken the snow pack. At temperatures close to the freezing point of water, or during times of moderate solar radiation, a gentle freeze-thaw cycle will take place. The melting and refreezing of water in the snow strengthens the snow pack during the freezing phase and weakens it during the thawing phase. A rapid rise in temperature, to a point significantly above the freezing point of water, may cause a slope to avalanche, especially in the spring.

Triggers
Avalanches are always caused by an external stress on the snow pack; they are not random or spontaneous events. Natural triggers of avalanches include additional precipitation, radiative and convective heating, rock fall, ice fall, and other sudden impacts; however, even a snow pack held at a constant temperature, pressure, and humidity will evolve over time and develop stresses, often from the downslope creep of the snow pack. Human triggers of avalanches include skiers, snowmobiles, and controlled explosive work. The triggering stress load can be either localized to the failure point, or remote. Localized triggers of avalanches are typified by point releases from solar heated rocks. Remotely triggered avalanches occur when a tensile stress wave is transmitted through the slab to the start zone, once the stress wave reaches the start zone a fracture initiates

and propagates the failure. Of exceptional note is that avalanches can not only entrain additional snow within the failing slab, but can also, given the sufficient accumulation of overburden due to a smaller avalanche, step down and trigger deeper slab instabilities that would be more resilient against smaller stresses. The triggering of avalanches is an example of critical phenomenon.

Avalanche avoidance

United States Forest Service avalanche danger advisories.

Snow fences in Switzerland

Avalanche blasting in French ski resort Tignes(3,600 m)

Good avalanche safety is a continuous process, including route selection and examination of the snowpack, weather conditions, and human factors. Several well-known good habits can also minimize the risk. If local authorities issue avalanche risk reports, they should be considered and all warnings heeded.[10] Never follow in the tracks of others without your own evaluations. Observe the terrain and note obvious avalanche paths where vegetation is missing or damaged, where there are few surface anchors, and below cornices or ice formations. Avoid traveling below others who might trigger an avalanche.

Human survival and avalanche rescue

To quickly find and rescue a person buried in an avalanche, a probe, beacon, and shovel are essential. The buried person must also be wearing an avalanche beacon.

Even small avalanches are a serious danger to life, even with properly trained and equipped companions who avoid the avalanche. Between 55 and 65 percent of victims buried in the open are killed, and only 80 percent of the victims remaining on the surface survive. (McClung, p.177). Research carried out in Italy[11] based on 422 buried skiers indicates how the chances of survival drop: very rapidly from 92 percent within 15 minutes to only 30 percent after 35 minutes (victims

die of suffocation) near zero after two hours (victims die of injuries or hypothermia)

(Historically, the chances of survival were estimated at 85% within 15 minutes, 50% within 30 minutes, 20% within one hour). Consequently it is vital that everyone surviving an avalanche is used in an immediate search and rescue operation, rather than waiting for help to arrive. Additional help can be called once it can be determined if anyone is seriously injured or still remains unaccountable after the immediate search (i.e., after at least 30 minutes of searching). Even in a well equipped country such as France, it typically takes 45 minutes for a helicopter rescue team to arrive, by which time most of the victims are likely to have died. In some cases avalanche victims are not located until spring thaw melts the snow, or even years later when objects emerge from a glacier. [edit]Search

and rescue equipment

A Blackhawk helicopter as the crew prepares to evacuate tourists stranded by an avalanche in Galtr, Austria, on February 25, 1999.

Chances of a buried victim being found alive and rescued are increased when everyone in a group is carrying and using standard avalanche equipment, and have trained in how to use it. A beacon, shovel and probe is considered the minimum equipment to carry for companion rescue. Organized rescue involves ski patrols and mountain rescue teams who are often equipped with other technologies to search for buried victims.