Surviving an avalanche

In the past few days there have been a number of deaths on ski slopes in the Alps and, in recent months, hikers in Greece, climbers in Italy’s Dolomite mountains, and guides in the Himalayas have all lost their lives.

The peak season for these huge and potentially lethal mass movements of snow is now underway in the northern hemisphere. To understand the dangers, and what it’s like to experience an avalanche, we hear from three survivors.

For mountaineer Cory Richards in South Africa, the impact of an avalanche while climbing the world's 13th tallest mountain in Pakistan left him and his two climbing partners thinking they were all about to die.

“Probably what carried us mostly was the air blast and the debris as it started moving across the flat ground,” says Cory. “It picked us up and threw us several hundred feet. We were all tied together and we all ended up partially buried.”

Fortunately for Cory and our other guests – JT Holmes and Benton Hodges in the United States – they survived. Benton was even part of the rescue mission to save his friend. But an avalanche can have more than a physical impact, and we also hear about the effects on everyone’s mental health, sometimes years after the event.

Hosts: James Reynolds and Luke Jones
BBC producer: Iqra Farooq
Boffin Media producers: Sue Nelson and Richard Hollingham
Editors: Arja Haikonen and Harriet Oliver
A Boffin Media production in partnership with BBC OS

(Image: Cory Richards. Credit Cory Richards)