A giant avalanche on K2 mount,Karakorum |
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| Authors: | Yongping Shen |
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| Institution: | (1) Academia Sinica, Lanzhou Institute of Glaciology and Geocryology, 14 West Donggang Road, 730 000 Lanzhou, Gansu, PR China |
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| Abstract: | On September 16th, 1986, an ice avalanche from a hanging glacier near the K2 peak at 7800 m asl, Karakorum, triggered a massive
avalanche of ice and snow. Ice and snow, impacting on the path, formed a dust cloud at the advancing tip. Grounding on the
firn basin surface, ice and snow broke into fine powder and covered the whole basin. Fine powder of the dust cloud rose up
to 500–600 m and drifted 4–5 km away. On the basis of field observations and measurements, topography and weather, conditions
of the avalanche formation are analyzed. Judging by the data obtained, the avalanche was extremely large, its vertical descend
being 2500 m, the maximum motion speed 124 m/s, volume of the avalanche mass 2 × 105 m3 to 107 m3, and impact pressure, as the avalanche grounded, 2.3 × 106 Pa. It could have been one of the largest avalanches ever recorded, causing danger for mountaineering and expedition activities
in this area. |
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