VIDEO: Avalanche Triggered by Snowboarder Walking on Cornice

SnowBrains | | Post Tag for AvalancheAvalanche

Snow season is fast on its way and this is a good reminder to keep your thinking cap on in avalanche terrain.  When we let our guard down is when we get into trouble.

This snowboarder encounters a very close call when he casually walks near the edge of a cornice. Suddenly a huge piece of the cornice breaks off and goes hurtling down a raw cliff face for hundreds of feet.  Had he been in that cornice fall, he’d have been lucky to survive.

cornice
cornice

Note: after the cornice breaks, the snowboarder walks to the edge of the broken cornice and looks down.  If you see a cornice break, do not do this.  Just because a cornice has broken once doesn’t mean it can’t break again.

This winter, we’re gonna bring you as many tips as we can about avalanche safety.  For today, lets all remember to greatly respect cornices and stay well back from the edge of them.


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4 thoughts on “VIDEO: Avalanche Triggered by Snowboarder Walking on Cornice

  1. was standing on the cornice above hourglass with 5 other skiers one day with a strong south wind and lots of snow. we didn’t think we were on the overhang. I just dropped out of the group as the cornice, just under me, broke off. down like an elevator. luckily I was ready to ski and turned away from it when I landed. good stuff, but not smart stuff.

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