The Dangers of Avalanches
Imagine a day of skiing or snowmobiling, where all is good and that last mountain must be conquered. Once on the slope, it may seem perfect, until the snow begins to give away and start to slide. Tumbling down a slope moving at 150 miles per hour, smashing into trees, becoming buried under 100,000 tons of snow, only to guess which way is up, how does one survive? Will the rescuers be able to find the buried victim?
For centuries, mountain dwellers and travelers have had to reckon with the deadly forces of snowy torrents descending with lightning speed down mountainsides. Researchers and experts are making progress in detection, prevention and safety measures, but avalanches still take their deadly toll throughout the world. Each year, avalanches claim more than 150 lives worldwide, a number that has been increasing over the past few decades (Cooper). Traditionally, the victims have included skiers and climbers. Today an increasing number are backcountry snowboarders and gasoline crazed snowmobilers (whyfiles.org).
An Avalanche is defined as a "rapidly descending large mass of snow, ice, soil, rock or mixtures of these materials, sliding or falling in response to the force of gravity." All that is necessary for an avalanche is a mass of snow and a slope for it to slide down. Avalanches occur regularly on mountains around the world, and are harmless, unless someone happens to be in the way. They tend to run down the same pathways every year, and danger zones are usually well-known (infoplease.com). Avalanches are born from a weakness in the snow. Snow is a shape-changer, depending on prevailing temperature and weather conditions. Snow begins life as a fluffy six-armed crystal flake, but while it...
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...www.nature.com/nsu/990902/990902-3.html
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Have you ever wanted to prove to everyone that you are a hard worker that is willing to give up everything to go on an adventure? If this is you than Everest is the perfect place for you. A great deal of Everest’s dangers are expressed in his book which should either inspire you to try this journey or sway you away from the treacherous mountain. In the story, “ Into Thin Air,” by Jon Krakauer a true story is told of a dangerous voyage up and down Everest. The climb up was arduous and long according to Jon, but the climbers sacrificed everything to get to the top, which most of the climbers achieved. However, emotions shifted when a storm swooped in and killed many of the climbers that were stuck on the summit, around 12-19 in total. The devices
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The AIDS epidemic has reached disastrous proportions on the continent of Africa. Over the past two decades, two thirds of the more than 16 million people in the world infected with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), which causes AIDS, live in sub-Saharan Africa. It is now home to the largest number of people infected, with 70 percent of the world’s HIV infected population. The problem of this ongoing human tragedy is that Africa is also the least equipped region in the world to cope with all the challenges posed by the HIV virus. In order understand the social and economic consequences of the disease, it is important to study the relationship between poverty, the global response, and the effectiveness of AIDS prevention, both government and grass roots.
Everest is an unbelievable mountain that has taken the lives of a number of the greatest climbers in history. It was my job to ensure that clients make it up that treacherous mountain safely. My name is Rob Hall. I was the main guide and cofounder of a climbing company called Adventure Consultants. My friend, Gary Ball, and I used to be professional climbers. Together we succeeded in climbing to the highest summit on each of the seven continents in seven months. This was our greatest achievement. After this, we decided to start our own company guiding clients up large mountains. In May 1992, we successfully led six clients to the summit of Everest. Unfortunately, Gary died of cerebral edema in October 1993 during an attempt on the world’s sixth-tallest mountain. He died in my arms and the next day I buried him in a crevasse. Despite the pain that his death had caused me, I continued guiding for our company and eventually led thirty-nine climbers to the summit of Everest.
"Snow Storms: What's a Blizzard." Forces of Nature: TQ 2000. Web. 3 Mar. 2014. .
Tennis is cruel and challenging, it’s a sport of variety. Tennis is a component of ranking, trust, partnership, teamwork, hardworking and much other knowledge. It teaches me how to build up trust with my partner, and also, recognize the dark side of this world, countless competition in everyday life. Everyone is trying to take your position, and only thing you can do is let them take it or fight for it.
HIV and AIDS have affected millions of people throughout the world. Since 1981, there have been 25 million deaths due to AIDS involving men, women, and children. Presently there are 40 million people living with HIV and AIDS around the world and two million die each year from AIDS related illnesses. The Center for Disease Control estimates that one-third of the one million Americans living with HIV are not aware that they have it. The earliest known case of HIV was in 1959. It was discovered in a blood sample from a man in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Looking further into the genetics of this blood sample researchers suggested that it had originated from a virus going back to the late 1940’s or early 1950’s. In 1999, researchers had discovered that HIV is derived from chimpanzees native to west equatorial Africa. This epidemic is spreading throughout countries and infecting 14 thousand victims every day. Learning about HIV includes knowing how to contract the virus, understanding most of the people it affects, how to prevent the spread of it, and knowing what treatments are available.
...ld Health Organization (WHO) report shows that, most people living with HIV or at risk for HIV do not have access to treatment, care and prevention and there is still no cure. In spite of these challenges, there have been successes. Global efforts have been made to address the epidemic, specifically in the last decade. The HIV prevalence rates have been reduced in a small but growing number of countries due to prevention and new HIV infections are believed to be on the decline. In addition to this, the number of people with HIV receiving treatment in resource poor countries has increased 10 times since 2002, nearing an estimated 4 million by 2008.
...xpected weather conditions over time, previous weather conditions, possible areas of less deteriorating weather conditions, expected duration of bad weather condition.
A blast of adrenaline charges throughout my body as I experience the initial drop. My body's weight shifts mechanically, cutting the snow in a practiced rhythm. The trail curves abruptly and I advance toward a shaded region of the mountain. Suddenly, my legs chatter violently, scraping against the concealed ice patches that pepper the trail. After overcompensating from a nearly disastrous slip, balance fails and my knees buckle helplessly. In a storm of powder snow and ski equipment, body parts collide with nature. My left hand plows forcefully into ice, cracking painfully at the wrist. For an eternity of 30 seconds, my body somersaults downward, moguls of ice toy with my head and further agonize my broken wrist. Ultimately veering into underbrush and pine trees, my cheeks burn, my broken wrist surging with pain. Standing up confused, I attempt climbing the mountain but lose another 20 feet to the force of gravity.
Web. The Web. The Web. March 26, 2014 Ncdc.noaa.gov. Web.
First off there is three main components to an avalanche, without them you can’t have an avalanche. They go as follows: 1) snow 2) slope 3) snow instability. Secondly, there are two kinds of avalanches; slab and loose snow. Loose snow are minor and usually never exceed 20 miles per hour. While slab avalanches are the destructive and deadly mountain slides. It is not uncommon for one of these to destroy a small town or forest. Since loose snow avalanches aren’t very dangerous, I will discuss slab avalanches. The fundamentals of how these snow masses occur, what to look for when testing and just all-together prevention.