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Tag: Avalanche

  • Mt. Everest: A Thrill and a Death Trap

    Why do people climb Mt. Everest? Because it’s there.

    It is the tallest mountain in the world. It is ten times taller than the worlds tallest building, and is only slightly lower than the cruising altitude of a jumbo jet.

    The attraction of a seemingly insurmountable object like Everest is too great for some people to pass up. Perhaps every person who has ever climbed the thing had their own reasons for doing so.

    In 1953, Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay wrote themselves into the history books — as well as Time Magazine’s list of the 100 Most Influential People of the 20th Century — by being the first verified people to make it to the top and live to tell the tale.

    Everest has been the scene of the death of 248 people. Most of those bodies are still on the mountain. The winds on the mountain can blow 200 mph. But there is a window of time in May and November when the winds shift and things calm enough for a climb. That period is called the summit window, and it is when most climbers give it a go. In total, over 4,000 people have climbed the mountain, and almost 3,000 of them have gone back for another round.. Only 660 made it to the top.

    Most climbers on Everest take bottled oxygen with them. The climb itself is not any worse than most mountains, but the sheer altitude makes things incredibly difficult. There is only 1/3 of the oxygen at Everest’s summit than there is at the base. Of the 660 people who have made it to the top, fewer than 200 went without bottled oxygen.

    The popularity of Everest as a challenge has taken a hit lately due to avalanches. Some say that global climate change is to blame for the instability that took 16 lives recently. Things are so bad that the country of Nepal has officially closed access to Mt. Everest from their side for the rest of 2014.

    Image via Twitter

  • Mount Everest Avalanche Causes Wingsuit Stunt Cancellation

    What was to be one of the most extreme wingsuit stunts in history has now been cancelled. The Discovery Channel this week announced that its upcoming Everest Jump Live program has been cancelled.

    The event, scheduled to take place on May 11, was cancelled out of concern for the families of the recent tragedy on the world’s tallest mountain. The avalanche took the life of 12 experienced Sherpas on Friday.

    The Discovery Channel released a statement this weekend through its Facebook page:

    Post by Everest Jump Live.

    Everest Jump Live was to have been an extreme stunt in which veteran wingsuit jumper Joby Ogwyn would take a running leap right off the peak of Mount Everest. Using his wingsuit, the plan was for Ogwyn to glide down the side of the mountain for more than 10 minutes before reaching base camp.

    The event was meticulously planned. Four cameramen were to have accompanied Ogwyn up the mountain. Ogwyn himself had practiced similar stunts at the Matterhorn and the Eiger in Switzerland. The event was also heavily promoted, with Ogwyn himself appearing on The Tonight Show last month.

    Post by Everest Jump Live.

    The recent Everest avalanche is being described by experienced climbers as the worst disaster in Everest climbing history. The 12 fallen Sherpas were preparing ropes and other supplies for climbers due during the mountain’s climbing season.

    The avalance left the well-worn path up to the peak impassable. Dozens of climbers above the avalanche point were trapped on the mountain over the weekend. According to a CNN report it still isn’t clear whether expedition companies will operate their yearly Everest climbs this year.

    Image via Thinkstock

  • Colorado Avalanche Kills 2, Injures 3 Others

    A large avalanche in Colorado has claimed the lives of two skiers. Three other skiers were injured. This avalanche makes the third one to strike Colorado in a week.

    The avalanche occurred on Star Mountain near Leadville and was triggered by several skiers who were on the hill at the time. Two skiers were originally listed as missing but their bodies were found in a search that took place Saturday evening. The bodies of the deceased skiers were found near the top of the avalanche thanks to beacons that the skiers were wearing.

    The three skiers who were injured in the avalanche were taken to a nearby hospital where they were treated for injuries that included a broken leg, a broken ankle and a possible broken rib and collapsed lung. One of the skiers has already been discharged and the authorities are not releasing any names at this time.

    According to Susan Matthews, a spokeswoman for the Lake County Office of Emergency Management, the recent increase in avalanches in Colorado is being caused by the increase in snowfall. She said,

    “We’ve had a much larger than average snowfall for this time of year. My advice would be that anyone who does want to do backcountry skiing be totally prepared. Taking an avalanche education course would be really, really helpful. Being fully prepared with proper equipment, proper clothing, food, water and beacons.”

    Skiers are often caught up in avalanches, but if they know how to escape or avoid one, they are more likely to survive. Earlier this week, six people were killed in a string of other avalanches. These accidents have prompted The Colorado Avalanche Information Center to release a warning saying that the recent snowpack is teetering on the brink of critical mass and is situated on top of a weak surface layer. These conditions can cause unexpected avalanches. If you plan to go skiing in Colorado or any other area, be sure to protect yourself and watch for avalanches.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons.

  • New Mad Max Trailer Shows First Gameplay Snippets

    During Sony’s big E3 press conference, a cut-scene teaser trailer was shown for an upcoming video game based on the Mad Max movie franchise. Though the teaser was overshadowed by other, more complete next-gen games and the crazy hype surrounding this year’s E3, the potential for Mad Max may be greater than almost anything shown at the conference. The game is being developed by Avalanche Studios, the makers of the Just Cause games and the perfect choice to create all the mayhem inherent in the Mad Max setting. Though the opportunity for some multiplayer Thunderdome action seems to have been missed, the focus on single-player should provide a more solid open-world experience.

    Today, Avalanche released that first gameplay trailer for Mad Max. Though most of the gameplay shown is only quick-cut action, that action certainly looks to capture the spirit of the Mad Max movies. In particular, the vehicle battles look to take advantage of the game’s sprawling, desolate landscape.

    Mad Max movie fans that are worried the game might be watered down and lose focus had some good news recently, too. Avalanche has responded to an online petition from fans, and has confirmed that Max will have an Australian accent.

  • E3 2013: No Multiplayer For ‘Mad Max’

    E3 2013: No Multiplayer For ‘Mad Max’

    Though it doesn’t seem to have set E3 on fire, the makers of Just Cause 2 revealed this week that they are working on a Mad Max-branded video game for next generation consoles. A teaser CG trailer for the game was shown during Sony’s big E3 presentation.

    It’s easy to see why the game has been overlooked. The Mad Max property is aging, and it’s hard to get excited about a game that doesn’t have a release date when games such as Titanfall and Infamous: Second Son are just arount the corner. Even so, Just Cause 2 was one of the best-received games of 2010, and that game’s crazy, violent, and fun gameplay, as well as its immense open world, would seem to fit perfectly with the post-apocalyptic wasteland of Mad Max.

    What the Just Cause games were missing, however, were multiplayer modes. PC modders proved that last year when they modded multiplayer functionality into Just Cause 2. Chaos, Mayhem, and ridiculous fun resulted:

    Unfortunately, Avalance studios has now confirmed that Mad Max will be missing a multiplayer mode as well. Warner Bros Games design director told GameSpot this week that Mad Max will feature a “very strong single-player experience” and that the game will focus on Max’s loner persona.

    Sure, the lonely Mad Max and the sprawling wasteland may make the game feel like The Road Warrior – and that’s a good thing. But a huge opportunity has been missed to give gamers some over-the-top “Two men enter, one man leaves” Thunderdome action.

  • E3 2013: Mad Max Video Game Coming From the Makers of Just Cause

    It’s clear that Sony peaked early this year, showing most of its new game announcements at its big PlayStation 4 announcement in February. Many of the games the company showed last night at its big E3 conference had already been seen, making the early portions of the Sony conference feel a bit stale.

    There were a few surprises, though. In addition to The Order: 1886 and Final Fantasy XV, another big announcement came during the Sony conference, courtesy Avalanche Studios, the makers of Just Cause and Just Cause 2. A game based on the Mad Max movies will be coming to next-generation consoles sometime next year.

    The game will feature the road warrior himself, who will “embark on a dangerous journey” after his car is stolen. No doubt the game will feature plenty of violence and a few of the ridiculous game mechanics that made the Just Cause games so fun. Also, here’s hoping that gamers will get some Thunderdome multiplayer action.

  • Four Dead in Avalanches, Twitter Reaction

    Four Dead in Avalanches, Twitter Reaction

    An avalanche claimed the lives of three skiers in an out-of-bounds area of Stevens Pass Ski Resort near Skykomish, WA on Sunday. A snowboarder died in a separate avalanche at The Summit at Snoqualmie in nearby Easton, WA, less than an hour earlier.

    During the Stevens Pass tragedy, professional skier Elyse Saugstad recalls hearing her friend shout “avalanche!,” according to the Seattle Times. “The next thing I knew I was taking more than a 2,000-foot ride down an avalanche, tumbling and turning and tossing the entire way,” she added. Saugstad came to a halt with her face exposed – this was not the case for three of her friends. In what has been described as Washington’s deadliest avalanche in years, the three expert skiers were swept away and suffocated. Fifteen skiers in all were hit, and families confirmed that among the dead are Chris Rudolph, 30, the marketing director for Stevens; and Jim Jack, 46, of Leavenworth, a freeskiing judge. The third victim has not yet been identified as of Sunday night. Just before the avalanche at Steven’s Pass, an unnamed snowboarder, also in an out-of-bounds area at The Summit at Snoqualmie, triggered a different avalanche, and was swept 500 feet over a cliff, according to the King County, WA Sheriff’s Office.

    Saugstad, who sometimes skis in Europe, where inflatable emergency air bags are popular, had her own, and activated it, as the avalanche was occurring. Below is a video of an inflatable device of the same design being put to use:

    Another skier grabbed onto a tree, and was able to keep his head above the snow. The skiers who’d died ended up being buried deep, with one of them being located very close to where Saugstad ended up. Megan Michelson, freeskiing editor for ESPN, who was also part of the group, states that as the avalanche calmed, she began skiing back and forth, using her snow beacon to try to get signals from the emergency beacons of the buried skiers. Those who weren’t injured were digging and attempting to administer CPR, but it was too late.

    Here are some Twitter reactions: