On the northern slope of Mount Cheget, in Kabardino-Balkaria, in a zone prohibited for skiing, at an altitude of 2800 meters above sea level, on March 3, seven young freeriders, including three girls, died. Rescuers managed to pull one 29-year-old extreme sportsman out of a snow trap.
Snowboarders and skiers deliberately “trimmed” the avalanche in the virgin snow. And on social networks the day before they posted photos with “Avalanche Danger” signs in the background.
Albert Khadzhiev, deputy head of the Elbrus high-mountain search and rescue team of the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations, and the operational duty officer Ruslan Dzhappuev told MK about how the rescue operation was organized and why, despite the avalanche equipment, only one of the eight athletes managed to escape.
The northern slope of Mount Cheget is avalanche-prone, there are nets there that you cannot drive through, and there are corresponding boards that warn of avalanches, says Albert Khadzhiev. - The dead deliberately went off-piste to ski. We simply walked around the restrictive barriers, rose higher and began to descend through the virgin soil...
This slope has been closed since the beginning of the season. There are “wolf guards” all around - red flags. It’s simply impossible not to see them,” confirms Ruslan Dzhappuev.
Rescuers say that from the place where their team is based in Terskol, this avalanche was clearly visible.
This slope is not far from us. The first group of nine rescuers immediately moved to the scene of the emergency. On the first day, we found 4 corpses and one survivor,” says Albert Khadzhiev. - Since there was no more information, we curtailed the work. And in the evening, around 5 p.m., the extreme sports enthusiasts were missing three more of their comrades from the hotel. On the morning of March 3, we had already advanced to the mountainside in larger forces. The slopes were pre-treated - shot at by the avalanche service - and we began work. 35 professional rescuers and 15 volunteers worked at the scene of the emergency. The bodies of three more people were quickly discovered.
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Rescuers walked in a line. They took half a step, injected with a probe, another half step - injected again. The cable car supervisors helped us a lot. At the same time, experts observed the slope of the mountain from below and from above, says Ruslan Dzhappuev.
The avalanche came along a wide front, but it couldn’t be called that huge, since there was little snow on the slope. But this multi-ton mass was enough to cover the freeriders who were going down the slope.
Canine crews were involved in the search work. “Dogs work most effectively in the first few hours, when a person remains alive under the snow,” explained Dzhappuev.
Vladimir and Yana on Cheget. The photo was taken the day before his death. Photo: social networks
- Were the guys found in the same place?
No, the dead were scattered at different heights. Many of them found themselves under a two-meter layer of snow,” Khadzhiev explains. - The only survivor of the avalanche, a 29-year-old Nizhny Novgorod resident, had an avalanche transceiver in his pocket. Thanks to this, he was saved.
Another one was lucky: he turned out to be a little higher. If the snow is not too heavy, oxygen continues to flow for some time,” adds Ruslan Dzhappuev.
As far as I know, foreign freeriders use avalanche cushions, which during an avalanche work as a life preserver, pushing a person to the surface...
This is a very expensive pleasure. Just pull the handle, and a special cartridge with compressed gas will instantly inflate two 150-liter bags behind your back, says Albert Khadzhiev. - Such an ABS backpack was worn by one of the victims. The system worked, but the board still pulled the man down, and he suffocated. An airbag greatly increases the chances of someone caught in an avalanche not drowning in it, but, unfortunately, it does not guarantee one hundred percent that a person can be saved.
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Among the dead was a native of Kirov, 30-year-old Oksana Sannikova, who had lived in Nizhny Novgorod in recent years. The girl was a master of sports in alpine skiing. Working at a ski resort for several seasons, she regularly attended lectures on avalanche safety. As part of the women's team, Oksana became the bronze medalist of the Russian Bandy Championship and Cup. On the northern slope of Cheget, a young family, Spartak fans Volodya and Yana Shanina, also died.
29-year-old Vladimir Shanin was a football player and midfielder. He played in the amateur league for various teams.
- How can we deal with freerider violators?
Previously there was a control and rescue service, and now there is a high-mountain search and rescue team,” says Dzhappuev. - Previously, if a person broke the rules, the rescuer would catch up with him and take away one of his skis. The skier had to walk down the mountain.
And now, as soon as they start to complain. Our principle is this: the customer is always right. Previously, before the cable car was closed, rescuers descended from the mountain and completely examined the slope. Nobody does this now. Nothing can be prohibited...
They watch videos of foreign extreme sports enthusiasts descending and cutting off avalanches. And they rush to imitate them. And first they write off on the Internet, gather in groups to unite and go down the virgin soil. They need untouched snow, thrills, for them there is a special thrill - sailing on the snow. They want to leave their mark where there are no other people's tracks. None of them thinks about the worst; they act relying on the Russian “maybe.” The main thing for them is to then post the corresponding video on the Internet. Adrenaline is pumping, that's it - let's go! They've been snowboarding for a year or two, and already think of themselves as aces.
I agree with my colleague and Albert Khadzhiev:
Despite the terrible tragedy, I think that in two days new extreme sports enthusiasts will be skiing on unprepared slopes. And accidents will continue.
The bodies of three more victims of the avalanche were found today in Cheget, where the snow had already buried four tourists the day before. The search operation is complete, and more and more details are emerging about how and why everything happened.
If they had stayed for a couple of minutes, they would have died too. The avalanche touched this group of skiers with the very edge, snow dust. But you can hear the air whistling as she pushes in front of her.
The northern slope of Cheget is extremely dangerous for avalanches. Everyone who comes here to ride knows this. Moreover, it is now closed. But these are the most tempting trails for freeriders - those who prefer skiing outside of well-maintained slopes.
The last photograph of one of the victims, Oksana Sannikova, against the background of signs: “Stop! Avalanche danger!”, “Skiing is prohibited!” In a day, she and her friends will still step beyond the flags.
In total, seven people died in the avalanche on Cheget. Only one skier survived - Nizhny Novgorod resident Yuri Zhupan. He doesn't give interviews. He considers it unethical to talk about a miraculous rescue against the backdrop of a tragedy. It is known that employees of the Ministry of Emergency Situations literally dug him up.
The bodies of all seven victims were found. Yesterday - four. Today - three more. Moreover, at first they did not know about the second group of skiers. The hotel owners called the Ministry of Emergency Situations - the guests did not return to their rooms in the evening. Every square meter of the slope was examined with avalanche probes. If you run into something deep in the snow, you immediately feel it. Forty people, equipment, dog handlers and dogs. But it was clear that this was no longer a rescue operation, but a search operation.
“If salvation does not come within a few minutes, then there will be no hope. If the avalanche didn’t physically break you, then, of course, it’s suffocation,” says Denis Gichev, candidate master of sports in mountaineering.
This man himself fell into an avalanche. He says that panic always sets in, although he has been involved in mountain sports all his life.
And these shots were filmed right inside an avalanche, small compared to the deadly one in Cheget. You can clearly see how the snowboarder is spinning, as if in a giant washing machine. Orientation in space is immediately lost. Snow clogs your mouth and nose - it’s impossible to breathe. A person literally freezes into the snow mass. I was lucky - I didn't fall asleep. If you look closely, you can see that the man himself provoked the avalanche. “Cut the slope,” as skiers and snowboarders say.
Tickle your nerves - this is what professional athletes allow themselves. Don't try this again!
“You can always assess the situation and not go to the very place that is dangerous. This will be right,” said Maxim Pankov.
He knows what he's talking about - 30 years in the mountains. Maxim Pankov is a mountaineer, snowboarder, and specialist in complex avalanches. Three main tips: take avalanche training courses before going to the slopes, study forecasts before skiing, and have avalanche transceivers, tapes, and special airbags in the process.
“You don’t need to escalate the situation so that you are in the avalanche zone. That is, there is no need to ski in these areas, especially under unfavorable conditions when the snow is in critical condition,” advises Maxim Pankov.
The winter was snowy. Most of the popular Russian slopes are now in critical avalanche condition. This is the worst time to show off: “Come on, we’ll get through. Look how I can!”
March 3, 2017. Seven people became victims of an avalanche on Cheget - three girls and four men (residents of Kirov and Moscow). Another man was rescued.
Tragic news - today at approximately 11 am a huge avalanche occurred in the Northern Circus of Cheget, the breakaway line began in the area of 3 crosses and stretched to the “chicken paw”.
According to the latest information, 4 people died, one was slightly injured, and there is information about two missing.
The avalanche was triggered by two or three riders entering the Circus from the Chicken Paw.
There were avalanche blowouts in front of all the sidelines of the circus, and at the bottom of the sidelines there was a “tear of a Komsomol member” and a “big stone”
The avalanche was apparently triggered by the last snowfall, accompanied by strong winds, and the subsequent sudden warming to +5-- + 8 degrees at the village level.
We will leave a detailed analysis of what happened on behalf of professionals for later, but for now we express our condolences to the families and friends of the victims...
Our group took part in rescue operations, unfortunately we were unable to find survivors, although almost all the victims were dug up within 10-15 minutes after the descent.
I believe that an avalanche of such volume is very difficult to predict and almost impossible to survive if hit.
Be careful when riding off-piste!
K.Anisimov
There was an avalanche here.
Let's look at the open tracks of Cheget - the Northern Circus is CLOSED!
The avalanche service is a federal service with its own tasks and its own budget. Their task is to protect regular residential areas, tourist centers, gas pipelines, roads and so-called “certified” routes under supports from avalanches.
On the Internet they write about the Ministry of Emergency Situations, about... sanctions, about the government, about GDP (well, of course, it’s like without it). Only one thing I understand is that I went onto the forbidden route, then I went on my own... myself...
Video of eyewitnesses of this avalanche. Just turn off the sound!
Snowboarders and skiers deliberately “trimmed” the avalanche in the virgin snow. And on social networks the day before they posted photos with “Avalanche Danger” signs in the background.
Albert Khadzhiev, deputy head of the Elbrus high-mountain search and rescue team of the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations, and the operational duty officer Ruslan Dzhappuev told MK about how the rescue operation was organized and why, despite the avalanche equipment, only one of the eight athletes managed to escape.
The northern slope of Mount Cheget is avalanche-prone, there are nets there that you cannot drive through, and there are corresponding boards that warn of avalanches, says Albert Khadzhiev. - The dead deliberately went off-piste to ski. We simply walked around the restrictive barriers, rose higher and began to descend through the virgin soil...
This slope has been closed since the beginning of the season. There are “wolf guards” all around - red flags. It’s simply impossible not to see them,” confirms Ruslan Dzhappuev.
Rescuers say that from the place where their team is based in Terskol, this avalanche was clearly visible.
This slope is not far from us. The first group of nine rescuers immediately moved to the scene of the emergency. On the first day, we found 4 corpses and one survivor,” says Albert Khadzhiev. - Since there was no more information, we curtailed the work. And in the evening, around 5 p.m., the extreme sports enthusiasts were missing three more of their comrades from the hotel. On the morning of March 3, we had already advanced to the mountainside in larger forces. The slopes were pre-treated - shot at by the avalanche service - and we began work. 35 professional rescuers and 15 volunteers worked at the scene of the emergency. The bodies of three more people were quickly discovered.
Rescuers walked in a line. They took half a step, injected with a probe, another half step - injected again. The cable car supervisors helped us a lot. At the same time, experts observed the slope of the mountain from below and from above, says Ruslan Dzhappuev.
The avalanche came along a wide front, but it couldn’t be called that huge, since there was little snow on the slope. But this multi-ton mass was enough to cover the freeriders who were going down the slope.
Canine crews were involved in the search work. “Dogs work most effectively in the first few hours, when a person remains alive under the snow,” explained Dzhappuev.
Vladimir and Yana on Cheget. The photo was taken the day before his death. Photo: social networks
- Were the guys found in the same place?
No, the dead were scattered at different heights. Many of them found themselves under a two-meter layer of snow,” Khadzhiev explains. - The only survivor of the avalanche, a 29-year-old Nizhny Novgorod resident, had an avalanche transceiver in his pocket. Thanks to this, he was saved.
Another one was lucky: he turned out to be a little higher. If the snow is not too heavy, oxygen continues to flow for some time,” adds Ruslan Dzhappuev.
As far as I know, foreign freeriders use avalanche cushions, which during an avalanche work as a life preserver, pushing a person to the surface...
This is a very expensive pleasure. Just pull the handle, and a special cartridge with compressed gas will instantly inflate two 150-liter bags behind your back, says Albert Khadzhiev. - Such an ABS backpack was worn by one of the victims. The system worked, but the board still pulled the man down, and he suffocated. An airbag greatly increases the chances of someone caught in an avalanche not drowning in it, but, unfortunately, it does not guarantee one hundred percent that a person can be saved.
Among the dead was a native of Kirov, 30-year-old Oksana Sannikova, who had lived in Nizhny Novgorod in recent years. The girl was a master of sports in alpine skiing. Working at a ski resort for several seasons, she regularly attended lectures on avalanche safety. As part of the women's team, Oksana became the bronze medalist of the Russian Bandy Championship and Cup. On the northern slope of Cheget, a young family, Spartak fans Volodya and Yana Shanina, also died.
29-year-old Vladimir Shanin was a football player and midfielder. He played in the amateur league for various teams.
- How can we deal with freerider violators?
Previously there was a control and rescue service, and now there is a high-mountain search and rescue team,” says Dzhappuev. - Previously, if a person broke the rules, the rescuer would catch up with him and take away one of his skis. The skier had to walk down the mountain.
And now, as soon as they start to complain. Our principle is this: the customer is always right. Previously, before the cable car was closed, rescuers descended from the mountain and completely examined the slope. Nobody does this now. Nothing can be prohibited...
They watch videos of foreign extreme sports enthusiasts descending and cutting off avalanches. And they rush to imitate them. And first they write off on the Internet, gather in groups to unite and go down the virgin soil. They need untouched snow, thrills, for them there is a special thrill - sailing on the snow. They want to leave their mark where there are no other people's tracks. None of them thinks about the worst; they act relying on the Russian “maybe.” The main thing for them is to then post the corresponding video on the Internet. Adrenaline is pumping, that's it - let's go! They've been snowboarding for a year or two, and already think of themselves as aces.
I agree with my colleague and Albert Khadzhiev:
Despite the terrible tragedy, I think that in two days new extreme sports enthusiasts will be skiing on unprepared slopes. And accidents will continue.
While, for example, in Italy, the Public Security Agency sent a bill to the local parliament that would provide for prison sentences for “trimming” an avalanche. For off-piste skiing in avalanche-prone areas, the violator is expected to be fined 5 thousand euros.
