Avalanche Kills 4 Ski Patrollers in Japan

Avalanche kills four out on ski patrol


Tottori resort closes slopes amid blizzard
TOTTORI (Kyodo) Four members of a ski patrol died Friday after being swept up in an avalanche at a ski resort in the town of Kofu, Tottori Prefecture, local authorities said.

The four were dug out after being buried in the avalanche, which occurred at around 1 p.m. at the Okudaisen ski resort, according to officials of the Kofu Municipal Government and the resort. They were immediately taken to the hospital but were later confirmed dead.

According to local authorities, the four were Yoshiyuki Nagaoka, 56, of Kofu, Satoshi Yamane, 49, of Yasugi, Shimane Prefecture, and Hiroyuki Fujisaki and Naoki Matsumoto from Matsue also of Shimane.

The ski resort officials said the four went to check the Meratani course, the resort's highest slope, after an avalanche hit the area, and they may have been caught up in a second avalanche.

The resort reportedly stopped operating its four ski runs and two lifts after the first avalanche and no other skiers were believed involved in the incident.

The ski resort is located on the southern side of the 1,729-meter Mount Daisen, the highest peak in the Chugoku region. There was about 60 cm of snow accumulation as of 7 a.m. Friday.

Warnings of a snow storm and avalanche were issued for Kofu on Friday, according to the Meteorological Agency.

In related news, the agency warned Friday of blizzards and high waves as it forecast strong winds and heavy snow across a wide range of areas, particularly in western and northern Japan, on the last day of 2010.

A strong wintry low pressure pattern is likely to continue into the new year, with additional snowfall on the Sea of Japan side through Sunday, the weather agency said.

More than 100 cm of accumulated snow was recorded by Friday morning in parts of Aomori, Yamagata and Niigata prefectures, while locations in Aichi and Kagoshima prefectures experienced their first snow of the year, according to the agency.

Strong winds of more than 100 kph were registered in parts of Kagoshima and Aomori prefectures, it said.

The agency predicted cumulative snowfall for the 24 hours to 6 a.m. on Jan. 1 would be 100 cm in the Tohoku region, 80 cm in the Hokuriku and Chugoku regions, 70 cm in the Tokai region, 50 cm in Kinki, 40 cm in Shikoku and northern Kyushu, 30 cm in Hokkaido and the Kanto Koshin-Etsu region, and 20 cm in southern Kyushu.

It also forecast 6-meter-plus waves in western and northern Japan, and 9-meter waves in some parts of the north.

The Japan Times: Saturday, Jan. 1, 2011
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Oh my what a tragedy! This screams out for more details! Were they prepared? Is this a risk they were trained to deal with an regularly do?

That ski area is very small and not in the snowiest part of the country. So they may not have had experience with that amount of snowfall in that period of time. But at least someone there should have had an inkling of experience with other snowpacks and winter climates. And group exposure minimization. No disrespect to the dead and their loved ones, but it is quite likely that they had no avalanche training at all.

As a generalization, patrol training in Japan is below international standards. And there is very little hands-on avalanche experience. This is slowly changing with a national NGO offering good quality avalanche training (CAC course equivalents).

It is sad that they are dead.

Awful

Every time I see footage from Japan it's with huge pow.

Can only express thanks to those that go out every day to try and keep our mountain playgrounds safe.

Vibes to family and friends.