Looking for info about a fatal slide in Davos Switzerland

**ANON-505** · 12-07-2007, 04:42 PM

avalanche.org only has info about N. Am avalanches.

An ex of my wife died in a slide in Davos, 3/13/06. Josh Duckworth was the name of the victim.

we'd like to read what happened, and google aint giving us shit.

help from any yurp mags would be great
thanks

Hugh Conway · 12-07-2007, 05:49 PM

http://wa.slf.ch/unfaelle/unfall06-en.html 13/3/06 (day/month/year convention)

the 05-06 summary isn't available yet from their online store:
http://www.slf.ch/media/shop/bestell-pub-de.html

**ANON-505** · 12-09-2007, 08:23 AM

Anything else?

Looking for more info...especially about the slide/snowpack.

It says he was wearing a transciever, but was buried for 45 mins...partner w/o? Also, want to find out if he died from trauma, suffocation or ??

Thanks!

**klar** · 12-09-2007, 10:37 AM

from a season rewiev of the sac (edit: swiss alpine club, not steep and cheap. the link apparently appears automatically): buried person was very quickly found with transciever.
"Einsätze Davos: Am 13. März verunglückte ein Variantenskifahrer im Leidbachtobel tödlich.Der verunglückte Skifahrer konnte sehr rasch mit dem LVS geortet werden, so dass nur zwei Retter zum Einsatz aufgeboten werden mussten."

detailed pdf file on the snow/weather situtation march 3-9
http://wa.slf.ch/index.php?id=8128&type=123
and webversion for march 10-16:
http://wa.slf.ch/index.php?id=8129
not sure if you read german, i can translate the main points ifyou like.
short article/news blurb thing:
http://www.news.ch/Amerikaner+am+Rin...389/detail.htm
2 snowboarders ignored warning signs, one set off 80m wide slide that carried him for 300m, dead when mnt rescue found him, doesn't say how he died. both had transceivers and radios.

**ANON-505** · 12-16-2007, 06:30 PM

I don't read german, and I would very much appreciate someone to translate the details

thanks

**cramer** · 12-17-2007, 01:54 PM

he did translate it in that last sentence he put there. It was a short arcticle if you click that link.

**klar** · 12-17-2007, 03:35 PM

yeah, the article does not say more than what i posted. according to the weather/snowpack link, it had snowed 40-70 cm on the 11. and 12th, with the 13th being the first clear day after the storm. before the temp. drop that came with the new snow, wet slides had been a problem in many areas. then it got very cold (down to -15°C), there was a lot of fresh snow and it had been windy during the storm. also a snowed in layer of surface hoar on some aspects and an unstable base layer in certain areas where the snowpack was far below average and the were seeing slides down to the ground. don't think this was the problem in this case, sounds more like the classic first sunny day after the snowfall, with windloading and snow that did not bond well to the older layer because of the cold.