Skier Seriously Injured After Avalanche Carried Him 600-Feet Over Rocks in Tuckerman Ravine, NH on Sunday The Mt Washington Avalanche Center reports that a slab avalanche in Left Gully in Tuckerman Ravine on Sunday carried a skier 600-feet downhill, hitting several rocks, and causing ‘bad breaks’. The solo skier was traveling uphill at the time. Related: The Dangers of Early Season Backcountry Skiing The avalanche, which had a 20″ crown at its thickest, was large enough to […] Avalanche AvyBrains | December 7, 2021 2 Comments
National Park Service Facing Lawsuit for Allegedly Causing Deaths of 152 Elk in California Park The National Park Service is being sued by three California residents and the Animal Legal Defense Fund for allegedly causing the deaths of dozens of elk at Point Reyes National Seashore. The lawsuit accuses the park service of being negligent and claims more animals will perish if the agency is not ordered to provide food and water during the current […] SnowBrains | June 24, 2021 10 Comments
Three Mountaineers Missing in K2 Winter Attempt At 28,251′, K2 is the second-highest peak in the world. The peak is notorious for its stature, death rate, short season, and difficulty to climb. The “savage mountain” claims the lives of 1 in 4 climbers who attempt it making it the 3rd deadliest mountain in the world. Until January 16, 2021, the peak had never been climbed in the […] Climbing Dominic Gawel | February 11, 2021 0 Comments
Mt. Saint Elias: The Longest Ski Run in the World You might not guess where the longest ski run is in the world. But to this day, Mt. Saint Elias holds the record at 18,008 feet. Located in a remote area on the Yukon and Alaskan border. While it should be noted native Tlingit people named it Yasʼéitʼaa Shaa, which means “mountain behind icy bay.” Predictably it has a massive […] Backcountry Cameron Griffin | February 1, 2021 2 Comments
Skier Without Any Avalanche Gear Lucky to Survive Full Burial in Tuckerman Ravine, NH A skier was lucky to survive after getting buried in an avalanche on Mount Washington in New Hampshire. Related: Tuckerman Ravine: The Notorious Bowl on Mt. Washington, NH The skier was carried from near the top of Left Gully almost to the floor of Tuckerman Ravine at about 3:30 pm Friday, the Mount Washington Avalanche Center said in a Facebook […] Avalanche AvyBrains | January 25, 2021 0 Comments
Solar Geoengineering: Skiing’s Last Hope? In 1991, Mt. Pinatubo erupted in the Philippines. The eruption spewed 20 million tonnes of sulfur dioxide into the stratosphere, a layer in the Earth’s atmosphere between 10 and 50 kilometers above the ground. The haze of sulfate particles was ushered around the world by global weather patterns, and before long, the whole world was shrouded in a thin layer […] Brains Clay Malott | January 20, 2021 4 Comments
Study: During COVID, Is Flying Safer Than Grocery Shopping? Last week, Harvard researchers asserted that flying on a plane during COVID is actually less risky than your average trip to the grocery store. This may seem counter-intuitive at first. Seating on airplanes is certainly not socially distanced, and one may initially think that it would be extremely detrimental to overall COVID precautions. However, the Harvard study cites mask-wearing, ventilation, and […] Brains Clay Malott | November 13, 2020 2 Comments
NASA: Could COVID-19 Have Seasons? Searching for Signals in Earth Data This post first appeared on NASA’s Earth Observatory website In 400 BC, the renowned Greek physician Hippocrates offered the earliest known account of a seasonal respiratory disease. The “Cough of Perinthus” was a winter affliction that hit a port city in Greece. Symptoms included fevers, chills, labored breathing, pneumonia, and sometimes death. Modern scientific tools have allowed us to observe […] Brains SnowBrains | July 17, 2020 1 Comment