A massive avalanche “powder cloud” is shown engulfing part of the Provo mountains in a chilling video captured in Utah.
Avalanche debris stopped much sooner, but the “dust cloud carried for hundreds of yards,” according to the Utah Avalanche Center.
The center posted the video to its various social media channels Monday, March 27. It shows a huge white powder cloud expanding out from an avalanche on the “middle finger” on Timpanogos in the Provo area mountains, officials said on social media.
“What the heck, bro. That’s one of the biggest avalanches I have ever seen in real life,” the person recording says in the video as the airborne snow cloud floats toward them and starts to climb into the sky over the slope they’re skiing. “It’s gonna pummel us! … Here it comes, bro.”
It looks cinematic, like something you’d be more likely to see in a movie than in person.
Seconds later, the cloud swallows them the same way a white-out blizzard would. No one was injured in the avalanche.
About 40 miles west on the other side of the valley, however, a snowmobiler died in an avalanche in Pole Canyon near Lewiston Peak, Fox13 Now reported.
What to know about avalanches
Avalanches happen quickly and catch people by surprise. They can move between 60 and 80 mph and typically happen on slopes of 30-45 degrees, according to experts.
Skiers, snowmobilers and hikers can set off an avalanche when a layer of snow collapses and starts to slide down the slope.
In the U.S., avalanches are most common from December to April, but they can happen at any time if the conditions are right, National Geographic reported.
At least 22 people in the U.S. have died in avalanches this season as of March 28, according to the Colorado Avalanche Information Center.
People heading into snow should always check the local avalanche forecast at Avalanche.org, officials with the U.S. Department of Agriculture said, and have an avalanche beacon, probe and shovel ready.
“Emergency services are usually too far away from the scene of an avalanche, and time is important,” Simon Trautman, a national avalanche specialist, said. “A person trapped under the snow may not have more than 20 or 30 minutes. So, in a backcountry scenario, you are your own rescue party.”
If an avalanche breaks out, it’s best to move diagonal to the avalanche to an edge, Trautman said.
“Try to orient your feet downhill so that your lower body, not your head, takes most of the impact,” officials said. “You may also get into a tight ball as another way to protect your head.”
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