Avalanche near Gulmarg kills 18 Indian soldiers in Kashmir

A heavy weekend of snow led to deadly destruction on Monday. Three miles from Gulmarg, the Himalayan ski area, an avalanche plowed over and through an indian Army high-altitude training camp. The massive slide killed 18, injuring 25 of the 350 Indian soldiers who were conducting a skiing test.

Storm totals approaching 135cm at the elevation of Gulmarg village. Estimates at 3 meters in the start zone of the Chooti Nali avalanche path. Our speculation is that this path produced the avalanche which hit the military group training in a forested area near treeline. Sadly this tragedy was caused by a natural avalanche which exceeded previously known runout limits. Due to ongoing storming conditions, it is difficult to determine the exact characteristics of this avalanche. The exception is the deposition zone whose devastation was evident in 100 year old trees broken 50 feet above the ground by the air blast. The dimensions of the deposition extended 300 meters in length, 100 meters width and averaged 4 meters depth. All imaginable configurations were present at the initial response with 7 partially buried victims, all with serious injuries, being stabilized and evacuated. Then a wave of dead victims were found in typical locations, a probe strike near a ski, 4 deep burials in front of trees. 3 more partially buried men were found together and alive, covered by broken tree branches. Ski patrollers assisting in the search later found a victim by probe line near the one of the flanks of the debris area. A snow groomer was used to excavate 4 more victims, all over 4 meters deep prior to the search being postponed at nightfall. None of the victims were reported as wearing avalanche transceivers.
Avalanche near Gulmarg kills 18 Indian soldiers in Kashmir

Report My Signal Forum and Readers extend their condolences to the members of HAWS staff, trainees and their families.

17 armymen dead, scores missing as avalanche sweeps away 350 men in J&K

Srinagar: As many as 17 army personnel, including an officer, were killed and 15 seriously injured when a group of about 350 men were swept away by a snow avalanche. They were setting up a winter warfare camp at Khilanmarg, 70 kms from here.

An army spokesman, Colonel J S Brar, said scores more were still missing and rescuers were searching for them in deep snow. Seventy personnel have been rescued, he said.

The dead included an officer, Lt Prateek, and twelve other ranks from the Army's prestigious High Altitude Warfare School, he said.

Some of those seriously injured are in a critical condition in a hospital in the scenic tourist spot of Gulmarg. Source: PTI
17 armymen dead, scores missing as avalanche sweeps away 350 men in J&K

Gulmarg

AP Photo by Mukhtar Khan
Indian army soldiers stand guard on top of a ski slope on the first day of the 5th National Winter Games in Gulmarg, some 55 kilometers (34 miles) from Srinagar, India, Monday, Feb. 18, 2008.

Indian Army recruits from high altitude warfare school practice at the ski resort of Gulmarg on February 18, 2008. The ski resort was abuzz with activity as India's national winter games kicked off in Gulmarg, which is closer to the defacto border dividing Kashmir between India and Pakistan.
Credit Getty Images

Himalayan Challenge
It takes escaping death to feel alive, especially if we have survived a tenure in a glacier, a battlefield, enemy encounter, a fatal terrorist attack or other accidents. Mountaineers who actively seek danger climbing to conquer the peaks are the notable ones who dance with human endurance, a conscious thrill of sensation, with the hidden sub conscious joy of cheating death. Looking for and seeking, out- of- the- world- experiences,with unfettered, unsupervised, wild, thrilling and scary emotions. Mountaineers want to be superhuman.
We too share silently the super status. We also think they are insane, especially, when they say goodbye to fellow extreme adventurists who have died on the mountains and still take the plunge. We continue to affirm life's treacherous adventure, even as all of us rebound with joy at unimaginable feats of endurance, and secretly applaud them pushing the envelope of immortality even further.