Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1896-08-10
STUDY OF AN AVALANCHE
Il surged Like a Great Sen Wa
Against the Anime C,l;eys


Against the Alpine Cliffs
A summary of the reporf moda ~,
Profs. Helm, Forell and Chodat IN +ba
great Gemml Pass avalanche Of SEN
TENDER II, 1885, given in the detailed
description OF the results of the catas-
.thhopne mage Dy men of good standing in
Inc avalanche was caused nrimar;lv hv
the Altels glacier. parts Oh
The abstract says: "On reaching tho
1oot OF the Altels, the avalanche. Which
up 10 TINS point must have consisted If
9n osn va Isl moving block of ice, measuring
I,zoO,OO0 meters (4,OOO.OO cnhic faat1
was reduced to fragments. at the san,o
11ne that the heat generated by the
shock converted these into q semi-f,nid
conditlon. Among the debris were to he
seen some blocks of considera hIe sizn
PUT only a few exceeded 2 meters 1911
deetl Ia diameter. With the velocity ac-
gu.led IN It's descent, this river of ice
rushed across the pasturage and nm tho
western 1oan slope Of the valley to a height OF
11Oo feet along the rocky wall Of the
Welsshushgrat. Not being comnIotaIv
able to surmount this barrier. the main
mass came surging back-like vast sea
wave recolllng from the cliffs-with such
ae 10 ( nd 6nat some of it returned to a height
III LAC CdSL0Ta size. lS6-
lated blocks, however, were hurled clear
oyer the ridge into the adjoining valley
the Uschinenthal. 49, 'aneS
The avalanche was preceded nv for
rIhc blast of wind which swept awav
chaleIs, trees, men and cattle as Though
lney nad been feathers. This is proved
Dy the fact that far above the limit
reached by the avalanche, hundreds of
Irees nave been uprooted and lie in regu-
lar rows, indicating with mathematical
exactltude the direction of the aerial
current. These trees are for the most
part OF great size, several, indeed, hav-
lns trunks l meter in diameter. Such
reverse dip on the hillside have been
spared; Others, standing with only half
Inelr helght above such hollows. have
had the exposed part blown off, while the
subsequent oncoming of the avalanche
mas not succeeded in tearing up what
was leIt OF them, even when it has en-
veloped their base. This wind produced
a veritable bombardment of ice dust
mixed with stones, which has stripped
the roots. and branches of the trees laid
low by the wind itself. and which must
have killed man and beast before ever
the real avalanche overwhelmed them
Further away the trees have only been
deluded of their upper portion. the
branches composing which were trans
ported to great distance, and now form
compact line of debris among the far
off scattered trees, like the bank of sea-
wreck left on open coasts after a fierce
storm. Ice bombs, too, round like cannon
one foot. which lay all about in the
neighborhood of the fallen mass, bore
eloquent testimony to the extreme vio-
lence of the wind. On the way from
the Hotel Schwarenbach, before coming
to the Bernese frontier. the green pas
@I1t eN4n IL
battlefield in old muZzle-loading times.
''The true avalanche, in its Fecoil from
the rock wall. has formed an immense
rampant, separated from the. rock by
deep trench. On the sides, under the
stress of the enormous power of the
wind, which, like the avalanche itself,
was DETECTED by the Weissfuhgrat,
blocks of considerable size were driven
around as in a whirlpool, SO as, at least,
on the northern edge, to have been
forced back up the slopes of the Altels
toward the entrance of the gorge, leading
to Kandersteg. These different at
mospheric motions were we'll marked
owing to the disposition of the materials
which came under their influence. Near
the Winteregg the trees, shrubs and
grasses were all bent toward the north,
forming an exterior zone, which was
more and more thickly covered with the
dust, etc, raised by the catastrophe as
second zone, within the first, was found
to consist of the loose rocks, etc, thrust
aside by the head of the ice mass as
it dashed up the west slope; the inner
edge of this zone was itself covered
with a layer of ice and snow, represent
ing the matter that kept pouring off
from the sides of the central body in its
upward progress, and also the results of
the refiux which took place when it's fur
Their advance was barred. Some of the
ice and stones hurled against the Weiss
fluhgrat had adhered to it, being plas--
tered. as it were, into the fssures and
gullies These masses were being con-
stantly detached from their precarious
position. and kept descending IN roaring
ayalanches. Natural Science.