Y Garn in less hostile conditions, by Dudie
Lakes and Snowdonia avalanche warning!
By
LFTO News Team
Outdoor headlines
22 January 2009 14:49
A lack of dedicated avalanche information for England and Wales means hill walkers need to take extra care this weekend according to Mountain Leader Training rep Mal Creasey.
Mal is warning those heading to the Lake District and Snowdonia that avalanches are a possibility in places
The weather is due to be very windy with a freezing level below the summits. Walkers and climbers can also expect blizzards and snow to accumulate.
Mal says: "In these conditions the snow is likely to be wet, therefore unstable so bits can simply ‘drop off ‘without warning.
"Even a bucket load of this type of snow can take you of your feet and you finish up bashing your head on a rock."
There is no official avalanche warning service for England and Wales, like there is in Scotland but Mal has given us these basic tips which everyone should read before venturing into the hills...
1) If you are sinking in over ankle deep, just maybe you shouldn’t be there..
2) Avoid leeward slopes (if the wind’s blowing from the north the leeward slope is the south side).
3) Know that slopes are at their most dangerous between 25º and 50º- even low angle innocuous looking slopes can avalanche.
4) Avoid run-out zones – below gullies or corrie head walls etc. ridges can be far safer than the bed of gullies.
5) Note snow pack stability – look out for a dull white, opaque snow which ‘squeaks’ under the feet and breaks up in blocks.
6) Raised foot prints are an indication that snow has been redistributed since it was deposited – probably creating a different lee slope.
Avalanches can hit even the best of us when we least expect it. Popular LFTOer Old Stephen feels lucky not to be badly hurt after being swept 30ft downhill earlier this week.
Stephen was climbing Y Garn, in West Wales - a mountain he knows very well.
He noticed a cornice at the top of a ridge looked dangerous so decided to retreat. As he was doing so a big wedge of the cornice broke away and took him down the hill with it.
"I was using my walking pole like an ice axe for a bit of support and I tried the arrest technique with it but I was tumbled over a couple of times in a mass of snow over some small but pointy rocks," he said.
"Luckily I came to a halt in a soft hollow while the rest of the snow, and my camera, carried on down.
"I had a mouth full of snow, and snow in my pockets and rucksack which had come open.
"I checked that everything was still in working order and apart from a sore elbow and a torn Gore-Tex sleeve it was.
"I feel fine about the situation now and realise how lucky I was not to have ended up further down the mountain with more injuries.
"With hindsight I should not have gone near the cornice but I did only stand at the bottom of it to assess if there was a way up.
"I always knew to keep away from cornices when walking above them but I shall avoid them from below in future as well!"
