Four Avalanched In Lakes

Four climbers have been caught in an avalanche in a popular area of the Lake District with two of them suffering 'serious injuries'. The incident also triggered a call by Cumbria Police 'not to walk in the fells'.

According to the BBC, the avalanche was triggered by two climbers in the Pinnacle Ridge area of St Sunday Crag, near Helvellyn. The story quotes the leader of Patterdale Mountain Rescue Team as saying: "The men had got to the top of their climb when they were faced by a snow-covered ridge, called Pinnacle Ridge, and they triggered the avalanche when they attempted to climb it."


Two other men were also caught up in the slide, but according to reports, didn't fall as far. Reports say that one man has serious head injuries and is being treated in intensive care, while another suffered 'multiple injuries' in the incident. All four were said to be from the Durham and Cleveland area.

Unstable Conditions

Reading between the lines, it seems likely that the climbers were caught in an avalanche on the exit of Pinnacle Ridge - many approaches to winter climbs are at an ideal angle for avalanches to take place and while ridgelines are, by their nature, relatively safe from avalanche risk, the same isn't always true of the slopes below them or indeed above them. But that's really just speculation,

The Patterdale MRT site reports that the men were avalanched 'from the top of Pinnacle Ridge' and two were air-lifted to hospital after an operation involving a Seaking helicopter and 19 team members that began with a call out at 14:00 and wound up at 20:30.

The Weatherline report for nearby Helvellyn issued yesterday described climbing conditions currently as 'very poor'  and sayd 'the gullies are full of loose powder snow and should be avoided until the snowpack has stabilised, when conditions could be excellent.'

Police Warning

In the aftermath of the avalanche, the BBC quotes Insp Lee Skelton, of Cumbria Police of saying that 'recent heavy snow falls combined with fluctuating temperatures had left many areas unstable.
Officers are urging people not walk in the fells and to postpone activities until conditions improve on high land.'

In reality, avalanches tend to be confined to slopes of a particular angle and aspect and suggesting, obliquely, that the entire area is now an avalanche zone isn't particularly helpful. A combination of hill skills, common sense and mountain-specific weather forecasts should allow you to enjoy the winter fells in relative safety.