- hace 19 horas
At the Austrian alpine village of Galtür, snow on the mountains surrounding the village build up. Due to the changing temperature during the month, a strong but brittle layer of ice forms under the snow. On the day of the disaster, the ice layer collapses and the building ice bank slips down the slope and forms a powder avalanche. Two minutes later, it hits Galtur and buries 57 people in the snow, killing 31 of them.
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00:00A picturesque Austrian resort in the height of the ski season.
00:044,000 tourists enjoy the beautiful alpine scenery.
00:10Suddenly, a massive avalanche shatters the peace.
00:14Within three minutes, a 100-meter wall of snow devastates the village of Galtun.
00:20It smashes buildings and buries dozens of people.
00:2531 die.
00:26All in a village that avalanche experts officially designated as safe.
00:32Now, using our advanced computer simulation, we reveal exactly what went wrong in Galtun.
00:39Disasters don't just happen. They're a chain of critical events.
00:43Unravel the fateful moments in those final seconds from disaster.
01:06The traditional ski resort of Galtun is a popular winter playground high up in the Alps.
01:16Steep alpine cliffs surround the village on three sides.
01:20It lies directly below the Griskop mountain, which towers over Galtun at a height of 2,754 meters.
01:30But this tranquil beauty comes at a price.
01:33In winter, heavy snowfall and high winds batter the village.
01:38Galtun lies in the heart of avalanche country.
01:43Nevertheless, the steep slopes are a magnet for winter sports enthusiasts.
01:48In peak season, Galtun attracts up to 4,000 visitors a week from across Europe,
01:54promoting itself as the resort with skiing on the doorstep.
02:00That's why Christa and Helmut Kappelner come here from Dusseldorf in Germany every year.
02:07Galtun is very small, and the ski slopes are right by the village.
02:14You hardly need to cover any distance at all to get to the slopes.
02:17You can ski right up to your front door.
02:24The easy access to the ski slopes makes Galtun the perfect family resort.
02:3333-year-old British firefighter Jason Tate, his wife and two children,
02:37are staying in a chalet on the eastern edge of Galtun.
02:42His brother Jonathan and his family are with them.
02:48They've now been in Galtun for 10 days on what is meant to be the dream holiday.
02:54The holiday was a kind of trip for a lifetime, as it were.
02:58We'd saved up all the previous year,
03:00and it was our first time away skiing with the kids.
03:04That's what was important to us.
03:08But their trip of a lifetime is far from ideal.
03:13Apart from an unseasonally warm period between January 29th and February 4th,
03:18the weather is terrible.
03:21By February 17th, the area has endured over two weeks of almost continuous snowfall.
03:28And then huge masses of snow started to fall.
03:31I've never seen anything like it in my life.
03:36High-altitude weather stations record 3.8 meters of snow for the period,
03:40six times greater than the February average.
03:44And the snow is not just falling heavily on the village.
03:48High above Galtun, snow continues to build up on the Gritzkopf mountain
03:52at an alarming rate of 15 centimeters a day.
03:59Cold air is moving towards the Alps, which means continuous snowfall.
04:03Above that, snow and more snow.
04:06The white snowstorm outside doesn't want to stop.
04:12The authorities issue a series of extreme weather warnings,
04:16and they shut down the ski slopes.
04:20Then, on February 18th, the threat of avalanches forces the authorities
04:24to close the only road leading into Galtur.
04:29Almost 4,000 people are cut off from the outside world.
04:36By February 23rd, Jason Tate and his family are still trapped in Galtur.
04:41They should have gone home three days ago.
04:44Jason is getting desperate.
04:47Every morning, we'd go out and clear the cars off and clear the drive
04:50because of the continuous snow,
04:52just in case we'd get a window of opportunity to get out.
04:58Of course, you can imagine the children were getting very bored.
05:00It was a case of trying to entertain them the best we could.
05:06The weather continues to deteriorate,
05:09and now it's more than just heavy snowfall.
05:12Huge winds batter the cut-off valley
05:14with recorded speeds of 120 kilometers per hour.
05:19At 7 a.m. on February 23rd,
05:23Galtur's mayor calls an urgent meeting
05:24of his avalanche emergency team.
05:26They believe the risk of an avalanche is now high.
05:33Galtur has three color-coded avalanche hazard zones.
05:38In the high-risk red zone surrounding the village's outskirts,
05:41no building is allowed.
05:43In the potentially dangerous yellow zone,
05:46all houses and hotels are reinforced.
05:50The green zone, the heart of the village,
05:52is considered safe,
05:53a place beyond the reach of any avalanche.
05:59The heavy snow continues throughout the day.
06:02As more and more snow piles up on the mountains overlooking the village,
06:06small avalanches start to appear on the lower slopes.
06:12With little to do,
06:14Christa and her husband Helmut venture out to the Café Gunther.
06:18They stay within the safe green zone,
06:20but Christa feels anxious.
06:24I did not feel safe at all,
06:26and I was afraid to leave the house.
06:29You constantly look up at the mountains on your left and right and think,
06:33oh my God, I do hope it's safe.
06:36So I was really anxious, thinking,
06:38I hope we get out of this alive.
06:43On the edge of the village,
06:44Jason Tate is increasingly concerned.
06:49With young children and an expectant wife,
06:51of course,
06:52you do feel quite responsible to look after their welfare
06:55and make sure that they were getting what they wanted,
06:57because we could see these smaller avalanches coming down.
07:03Galtura is now experiencing its heaviest snowfall
07:06since records began 100 years ago.
07:08An astonishing 30 centimetres falls on this one day alone.
07:13The freak weather surprises even the locals.
07:18Maria Wolf is housekeeper to the village priest.
07:20She hasn't seen a winter this bad in her entire life.
07:293.50 p.m.
07:31Christa and Helmut leave the Café Gunther
07:33and head back to their hotel.
07:35It's a 20-minute walk in thick snow.
07:43Jason Tate and his family are in their chalet on the outskirts of Galtur.
07:51Maria Wolf is in the laundry room of the priest's house next to the church.
07:57She's nearly finished her work, but something feels wrong.
08:01I was just about to go into the presbytery chapel to say a rosary,
08:06because somehow it seemed as if something was about to happen.
08:11I had a feeling that there was something in the air.
08:15Maria is right to feel uneasy.
08:17High on the Griskopf mountain, the snowpack creaks under its enormous weight.
08:24It breaks away.
08:26A massive avalanche is headed straight for the village.
08:32The lives of people in Galtur are about to change forever.
08:41High above the Austrian ski resort of Galtur,
08:44a massive overhang of snow buckles under the strain
08:47of three weeks of almost continuous snowfall.
09:12The village of Galtur lies directly in its path.
09:21Jason and Jonathan Tate are with their children in the chalet
09:24on the outskirts of the village.
09:26All of a sudden, you sort of hear this rumbling,
09:29sort of very, very low,
09:31as if a train is going past in the distance.
09:40Jonathan pushes the children under a table,
09:43terrified that the windows are about to blow in.
09:45It happens so fast that all of a sudden the house just rocks.
09:50And then it's like being in a washing machine.
09:52The elements are just battering the house.
09:54And I was just concerned that the windows
09:56couldn't sustain that kind of battering.
10:02A wave of snow, 100 meters high,
10:05crashes through Galtur's outskirts.
10:07Here in the outer yellow zone,
10:09buildings are made to resist avalanches.
10:11The avalanche obliterates many of them in seconds.
10:25Fifty seconds after 4 p.m.,
10:28housekeeper Maria Wolf is about to leave the priest's house
10:30when the avalanche surges towards the center of the village.
10:50A flurry of snow, and then I can't remember anything.
10:56Three seconds later,
10:58the avalanche thunders down the street
11:00as Krista and Helmut Kaepelner return to their hotel.
11:04Krista feels a huge force hit her in the back.
11:10The tremendous power of the avalanche
11:12somersaults her 50 meters down the street.
11:17Instinctively, I covered my face with both hands
11:19and pitched forward.
11:264.02 p.m.
11:30The avalanche finally peters out
11:32100 meters inside the green zone,
11:34the safe zone that is the center of Galtur.
11:40The deadly wall of snow has devastated
11:42this once tranquil village.
11:53It has thrown and crushed cars.
11:56Snow buries entire streets
11:58and destroys houses.
12:01No one knows how many people are trapped.
12:11Shocked villagers immediately get to work
12:13to try to locate survivors.
12:15The rescuers have no idea where people are buried.
12:19They work in lines,
12:21probing the snow with metal rods
12:22to help locate hidden bodies.
12:35Jason and Jonathan Tate's chalet
12:37is at the very edge of the avalanche path.
12:40It escapes undamaged.
12:43The brothers set out to see
12:44if they can help with the rescue effort.
12:49And we kept passing people,
12:51coming away from where it had been,
12:53holding their heads and shaking their heads.
12:55It was quite concerning.
12:56We thought, well,
12:57what have we got walking into here?
12:59What faced us was absolutely shocking.
13:02Basically, there was just a huge amount of snow
13:05where half of the village had previously been.
13:08whole hotels at 45 degrees
13:12literally uprooted and turned over.
13:16To see a whole building turned over like that
13:18is something to behold the power of nature.
13:23Snow even fills the buildings left standing,
13:26burying people inside.
13:33Maria Wolf is one of them,
13:34trapped under snow in the laundry room.
13:37Only the sink saves her from being totally buried.
13:43But she's unconscious.
13:45She needs help, fast.
13:49365 meters away,
13:51the full force of the avalanche
13:53has blasted German tourist Krista
13:54off her feet and along the street.
13:58As the avalanche subsides,
14:00Krista finds herself trapped in an icy tomb.
14:05She was standing next to Helmut
14:07when the avalanche struck
14:08and is sure that he'll rescue her.
14:11As an experienced skier,
14:13Krista knows that her survival
14:14depends on being found quickly.
14:15A pocket of air is keeping her alive.
14:19But for how long?
14:21There was a smell of mold.
14:25As if one had been buried alive.
14:28That's what it felt like.
14:35Maria is luckier.
14:36A rescue team finds her
14:38in the priest's basement.
14:42Walter Kirk, a local doctor,
14:44rushes to the scene.
14:49All I knew was that a male voice said,
14:52stay calm, Maria.
14:55And the doctor asked me,
14:56can you move your feet?
14:58And I said, yes, both of them.
15:04Dr. Kirk begins emergency treatment.
15:06Maria has fractured ribs and back injuries,
15:09but seems numb to the pain.
15:11She did not scream.
15:13She did not cry.
15:14She was in a state of shock,
15:15just like the rest of us.
15:18As darkness falls,
15:19the temperature plummets
15:20to minus nine degrees Celsius,
15:22well below freezing point.
15:24But a greater threat than cold
15:26is asphyxiation.
15:28For people buried under the snow,
15:30the difference between life and death
15:32is now a matter of minutes.
15:40The village of Galtur
15:41is shattered by a massive avalanche.
15:43Nightfalls and rescue teams
15:45desperately race against time
15:46to pull people out
15:47before they asphyxiate under the snow.
15:52If the rescuers don't find victims
15:54within 40 minutes,
15:55it's usually too late.
16:01The village mayor is desperate for help.
16:06Frantic calls go out
16:07to the emergency services in Landek,
16:09the nearest town,
16:1040 kilometers away.
16:15But the calls are in vain.
16:18Helicopters are ready and waiting,
16:20but the snowstorm has cut off
16:21the entire valley.
16:25The weather grounds the choppers.
16:34Galtur is on its own.
16:35As the clock ticks away,
16:37the victim's survival now relies
16:39on the rescue efforts of volunteers.
16:41Hey!
16:444.45 p.m.
16:4646 minutes after the start
16:48of the avalanche,
16:49and for German skier
16:50Krista Kaepelner,
16:51time is running out.
16:57At that point,
16:59I felt no fear at all.
17:00I was simply hoping and wishing
17:02and praying that I would be rescued.
17:09Krista Kaepelner knows
17:11that the oxygen in her air pocket
17:12is getting dangerously low.
17:15She realizes she must try
17:17to dig herself out,
17:18but it's an impossible task.
17:24The snow was as hard as concrete,
17:26just like pushing against
17:27a concrete wall.
17:29So I was totally unable
17:30to do anything at all for myself.
17:32All I could do was wait
17:33to be rescued by other people.
17:39She's unaware
17:40aware that a rescue team
17:41is close by.
17:44With them,
17:44a search dog,
17:45Heiko,
17:45is trained in avalanche rescue.
17:50Heiko's job
17:50is to sniff out
17:51people buried beneath the snow.
18:00Krista begins
18:01to lose consciousness
18:02as the last of her oxygen
18:03is exhausted.
18:14Suddenly,
18:15Heiko picks up a scent
18:16around the bumper
18:17of a car buried in the snow.
18:21The team starts
18:22to dig frantically,
18:23hoping they might find
18:24a survivor.
18:25It's incredibly hard going.
18:28The snow is solidly compacted.
18:32It wasn't the soft
18:33kind of snow
18:33that you'd expect
18:34to go out and play in.
18:35It was like concrete.
18:37It had set,
18:37and it was quite difficult
18:38to try and dig through.
18:42The team dig deeper
18:43under the upturned car.
18:46Heiko becomes
18:46more and more agitated.
18:517 p.m.
18:53Krista has been buried
18:54for three hours.
18:57The rescuers are
18:59three meters down
19:00when they spot clothing.
19:01It's Krista.
19:04Barely alive,
19:05she has severe hypothermia.
19:07She needs medical help
19:09urgently.
19:15Finding Krista
19:16gives everyone
19:17new hope.
19:18The volunteers
19:19work through the night
19:20in freezing temperatures.
19:23But as the hours pass,
19:25there's little chance
19:26of finding any more
19:27buried survivors.
19:34The following morning
19:36at dawn,
19:36the weather clears,
19:37and emergency helicopters
19:38from Land Deck
19:39arrive to start
19:40airlifting out the injured.
19:44But with so much devastation,
19:46the authorities decide
19:47to evacuate the village.
19:53It's a massive task.
19:55And with so many
19:56properties destroyed,
19:57many people are left homeless
19:58and must spend the night
19:59in the local sports hall.
20:05The American and German
20:06militaries offer assistance.
20:09Two days later,
20:10Black Hawk helicopters
20:11fly in from bases
20:12in Germany.
20:16The American and German
20:17military are in the
20:19and the other
20:21survivors.
20:24Survivor Krista
20:24Kapelner is one
20:25of the first
20:26to be evacuated.
20:27As she recovers
20:28from her ordeal
20:29in hospital,
20:30her thoughts turn
20:30to her missing
20:31husband, Helmut.
20:34After a while,
20:35it dawned on me
20:36what must have happened.
20:37I had worked it out
20:38for myself by then.
20:40If he'd not been
20:41found yet,
20:42he simply could not
20:43have survived
20:44that cold.
20:51When the rescue team
20:52finds Helmut's body,
20:54he's just 50 meters
20:55from the spot
20:56where they rescued Krista.
21:01Helmut is one
21:02of 31 victims
21:03who die in Galtur.
21:07Many more
21:08are injured.
21:14The disaster
21:15attracts international
21:16attention.
21:17With 60 people
21:19killed in a series
21:20of avalanches,
21:21the latest struck
21:22Tuesday in the
21:23small town of Galtur.
21:25News crews descend
21:26on the stricken
21:27Alpine village.
21:33Avalanche expert
21:34Art Mears
21:35from Colorado
21:36flies in by helicopter.
21:39With over 25 years
21:41experience,
21:42Mears understands
21:43all too well
21:44the devastation
21:45that an avalanche
21:45can wreak.
21:48But the destruction
21:49in Galtur
21:50horrifies even him.
21:55You could still see
21:57pieces of people's lives
21:59embedded in the debris.
22:03Dolls,
22:04somebody's hairbrush.
22:06This was still visible,
22:08slowly melting out
22:09of the debris.
22:10And of course,
22:11there was extensive
22:11devastation to the buildings.
22:14There were a lot of
22:15obvious signs
22:16that something large
22:18and with a great deal
22:19of force and energy
22:20had come off
22:21the mountainside.
22:21there were a lot of
22:23things like that.
22:27But what puzzles
22:28Mears and other experts
22:30is that the avalanche
22:31penetrates the heart
22:32of the village,
22:33the one part of Galtur
22:34everyone thinks
22:36is avalanche safe.
22:40Yet it's here
22:41that the avalanche
22:42claims most of its victims.
22:47It's clear
22:48the computer model
22:49dividing Galtur
22:50into three hazard zones
22:51failed hopelessly.
22:58What's more,
22:59the same model
23:00is used
23:00throughout the Alps,
23:01leaving thousands
23:02of mountain communities
23:03and tourists
23:04potentially at risk.
23:10How could the
23:11sophisticated
23:12computer model
23:13prove so
23:14disastrously wrong?
23:22February 1999.
23:24A massive avalanche
23:25slices through
23:26the ski resort
23:26of Galtur
23:27in the Austrian mountains.
23:30The center of the village
23:32is supposed to be
23:32avalanche safe.
23:36But within three minutes,
23:3831 people are dead
23:40and many more injured.
23:42So what went wrong?
23:45By rewinding the events
23:47of that fateful day
23:48and analyzing in detail
23:50the official investigation,
23:51we can now reveal
23:52what happened at Galtur.
24:00Our advanced computer simulation
24:02will take us
24:03where no camera can go,
24:04into the heart
24:05of the Galtur avalanche.
24:15The day after the disaster,
24:17the Tyrolean prosecutor
24:18appoints Paul Fearn
24:19and Stefan Margret
24:20as chief investigators.
24:22Both men are from
24:24the Swiss Federal Institute
24:25for Snow and Avalanche.
24:28The scale of the destruction
24:30shocks Margret.
24:35Galtur gave me the impression
24:36of a war zone.
24:38There were many helicopters
24:39flying around,
24:40completely destroyed houses,
24:42big heaps of snow
24:43where they were still
24:44looking for victims
24:45and hundreds of damaged cars.
24:47It was indeed
24:48a terrible sight.
24:54The first step
24:55for the investigators
24:56is to assess
24:56why the avalanche
24:57is so destructive.
25:01It's clear that Galtur's
25:03avalanche hazard zones
25:04totally failed.
25:09Scientists calculated
25:10the hazard zones
25:11on a worst-case scenario
25:12based on studies
25:14of 150 years
25:15of avalanche activity
25:16in the valley.
25:17But this avalanche
25:19has swept through
25:20the high-risk red zone,
25:21continued through
25:22the medium-risk yellow zone
25:24and penetrated
25:25the green zone,
25:26the very center
25:27of Galtur.
25:32This so-called safe zone
25:34now resembles
25:35a war zone.
25:44The investigators
25:45must find out
25:46what really turned
25:47the Galtur avalanche
25:48into a lethal monster
25:49that surpassed
25:50their worst fears.
26:01Fern is determined
26:02to find out
26:03just how big
26:04this avalanche
26:04actually was.
26:06He starts
26:07with the basics.
26:08He studies
26:09the weather data
26:09to check out
26:10the snowfall
26:11and see if there's
26:11anything out of
26:12the ordinary.
26:15The usual weather
26:16in wintertime,
26:17especially in January,
26:18is a mix of snowfalls
26:20and then nice weather.
26:21That was the case
26:22this year.
26:23We didn't have
26:24anything unusual.
26:28But when Fern
26:29checks weather reports
26:30for the end of January
26:311999,
26:32he spots something
26:33intriguing.
26:38On January 26th,
26:40low pressure
26:40over northern Italy
26:41creates four days
26:42of heavy precipitation
26:43in the Alps.
26:47At the same time,
26:48a high-pressure front
26:49of cold air
26:50sweeps down
26:50from the Arctic.
26:52The two weather
26:53systems collide,
26:54and as the cold front
26:55meets the warmer,
26:56wetter front,
26:57they create snow.
26:58Huge amounts of snow.
27:06Similar weather conditions
27:07occur throughout
27:08much of February.
27:12Fern calculates
27:13that snowfall
27:13for the area
27:14is an incredible
27:153.8 meters,
27:17six times
27:18the seasonal average,
27:20enough to create
27:21a massive avalanche.
27:38To find out
27:39exactly how large
27:40the avalanche is,
27:41Fern and Margret
27:42must fly to the very spot
27:43where the massive snow
27:44broke away.
27:45The summit
27:46of the Griskopf mountain,
27:481,170 meters
27:50above Galtur.
27:55But just two days
27:56after the avalanche,
27:57the snow is still
27:58extremely unstable.
28:00It's a dangerous mission.
28:09Fern measures
28:10the size of the fracture zone,
28:12the site where the avalanche
28:13broke away from the mountain.
28:15It's over twice
28:17the size he expects.
28:20Marguerite is so amazed,
28:21he takes this photograph.
28:23At its widest,
28:24it's a staggering
28:254.5 meters.
28:28On this basis,
28:29Fern calculates
28:30that the avalanche
28:31weighs an incredible
28:32170,000 tons.
28:34An avalanche on this slope
28:36should weigh
28:37no more than
28:3770,000 tons.
28:40Fern realizes
28:41that even the most
28:42continuous snowfall
28:43in the weeks
28:44leading up to the disaster
28:45can't explain
28:46the size
28:47of this avalanche.
28:49The question is,
28:51where has the
28:52extra snow come from?
28:56The investigators
28:57return to the
28:58weather records.
28:59They find that
29:00between January 27th
29:01and February 23rd,
29:03strong northwesterly winds
29:04pound the Galtur region.
29:11High on the mountains,
29:13these winds travel
29:13at 120 kilometers per hour,
29:16enough to move
29:17up to 30 tons of snow
29:18in just a few hours.
29:22Much of this snow
29:23gets blown
29:24from surrounding slopes
29:25onto the mountain ridges
29:26above Galtur.
29:30Wind is an extremely
29:32important architect
29:33in the formation
29:34of avalanches.
29:34It was an important
29:36factor at Galtur.
29:37We had the mountain
29:39ridge above Galtur
29:42that was oriented
29:43perfectly to collect
29:44snow from
29:45northwesterly winds.
29:47The power of the wind,
29:48combined with the
29:49orientation of
29:50Greiskopf Mountain,
29:51causes an extra
29:52two meters of snow
29:53to collect above
29:54the village.
30:00But the amount of snow
30:01creates yet another
30:02puzzle for the
30:03investigators.
30:05A 170,000 ton snow ridge
30:08would not normally
30:09be able to support
30:10itself.
30:10It would break off
30:11long before it got
30:12this big.
30:14So why didn't it?
30:21Usually avalanches
30:22release before they get
30:25four and a half meters
30:26deep like they were
30:26at Galtur.
30:27Four and a half meters
30:28is 15 feet
30:29and that's a lot
30:31of snow.
30:39Every mountain peak
30:40has one or more
30:41snow caps which form
30:42when successive layers
30:43of snow fall on top
30:44of each other.
30:47Some layers are made
30:48of snow crystals
30:49that are weaker
30:50than others.
30:56When snow builds
30:57on a weak layer
30:58that layer can give
30:59way causing the snow
31:01on top to slide off
31:02and trigger an avalanche.
31:10Big avalanches are rare
31:12because the weak layer
31:13usually gives way
31:14before the layers
31:15on top become too thick.
31:21If the layer
31:22had been very weak
31:23you would have had
31:24smaller avalanches
31:25released at several
31:26different times
31:27instead of a single
31:28one building up.
31:41So why didn't
31:42the weak layer
31:43give way sooner?
31:48When Paul Fern
31:49analyzes the weak layer
31:50he hits upon
31:51something strange.
31:54The ice crystals
31:55are much more strongly
31:56bonded than in a
31:57typical weak layer.
32:01Fern knows such
32:02strongly bonded crystals
32:04can be formed
32:04when snow melts
32:05and then refreezes.
32:10But how could this
32:11have happened high
32:11in the Alps
32:12in the middle of winter?
32:16Fern rechecks
32:18the temperature records
32:19and they confirm
32:20his hunch.
32:22Temperatures between
32:23January 29th
32:24and February 4th
32:25rose from
32:26minus 20 degrees
32:27Celsius
32:28to 4 degrees
32:29above freezing
32:30warm enough
32:31for the snow
32:32to melt.
32:36But by February 5th
32:38the temperature
32:39plummets
32:40to below zero again
32:41and the snow
32:42and the snow
32:42above Galtur
32:43refreezes.
32:44It causes the
32:45formation of
32:46strongly bonded
32:47crystals
32:47making this weak
32:49layer freakishly
32:50strong.
32:51I think the most
32:52unusual aspect
32:54of the weak layer
32:55at Galtur
32:56was that it really
32:57wasn't that weak.
33:00at 3.59 p.m.
33:02on February 23rd, 1999
33:03the weak layer
33:05finally gives way
33:06releasing 170,000 tons
33:08of snow
33:09with disastrous
33:10consequences.
33:20But does this new
33:21evidence explain
33:22why the avalanche
33:23caused most
33:24destruction
33:24in the supposedly
33:25safe center
33:26of Galtur?
33:33The investigation
33:34team feeds
33:35the new data
33:35into a computer
33:36simulation
33:37of the avalanche.
33:40The result
33:41is mystifying.
33:42The computer
33:43predicts that
33:44this avalanche
33:45would still stop
33:46before it reaches
33:47the green zone.
33:52Yet the destruction
33:54in Galtur's center
33:54is irrefutable
33:55evidence of a huge
33:57and devastating
33:58avalanche.
34:02Furn knows
34:03he must track
34:04down a killer
34:04no one ever
34:05expected.
34:06An avalanche
34:07with the power
34:08to strike
34:08at the very
34:09heart of Galtur.
34:11This time
34:12he goes through
34:13the eyewitness
34:13accounts looking
34:14for clues
34:15and an even
34:16more complicated
34:17picture emerges.
34:22One witness
34:23recalls seeing
34:23the avalanche
34:24heading directly
34:25towards his house
34:26in distinct
34:27waves of snow.
34:31These waves
34:32are characteristic
34:33of what scientists
34:33call a powder
34:35avalanche.
34:36Powder avalanches
34:37can have a density
34:38of up to 20 times
34:40that of air.
34:41They can travel
34:42at speeds
34:43of up to 417
34:44kilometers per hour.
34:52But as well
34:53as the top layer
34:53of powder snow
34:54the evidence
34:55points to a bottom
34:56layer of dense
34:57heavy snow.
34:58proof that this
35:00was a complex
35:01avalanche.
35:09This presents
35:10a major problem
35:11for the scientists.
35:12Their hazard zone
35:13computer model
35:14can only accurately
35:15track the path
35:16of a classic
35:17alpine avalanche.
35:18avalanche.
35:20They simply don't
35:21have the data
35:21to predict the behavior
35:22of the more complex
35:23avalanche
35:24that struck
35:24Gautur.
35:26The investigation
35:27grinds to a halt.
35:33Then
35:34their luck
35:35turns.
35:36They learn
35:37of a daring
35:38experiment
35:38that casts light
35:39on the behavior
35:40of multi-layered
35:41avalanches.
35:44Just two weeks
35:45before the
35:45Gautur disaster
35:46a team of
35:47Austrian and
35:48Swiss scientists
35:48set out for
35:49Mount Crater Besser
35:50in Switzerland.
35:52They're going to
35:53set off an avalanche
35:54deliberately
35:54and record how it
35:56moves down the
35:57mountain.
35:58Two Doppler
35:59avalanche radars
36:00transmit short
36:01pulses of
36:02microwave energy
36:02that will document
36:03the avalanche's
36:04progress
36:05second by second.
36:08It's a highly
36:09dangerous experiment.
36:11The avalanche
36:11will be heading
36:12straight for them.
36:14The team
36:14takes cover
36:15inside a
36:15reinforced
36:16concrete bunker
36:171,300 meters
36:19beneath the
36:19mountain peak.
36:20A helicopter
36:21drops explosive
36:22charges to
36:23trigger the
36:23avalanche.
36:25The scientists
36:26own film
36:27reveals what
36:28happens next.
36:33An enormous
36:35slab of snow
36:35breaks away
36:36from the mountain
36:37and rampages
36:38out of control
36:39downhill.
36:43As the huge
36:44wall of snow
36:45heads towards
36:45them, they
36:46hastily shut
36:47the hatches
36:48just in time.
36:50The avalanche
36:50engulfs the
36:51bunker.
37:04They've had
37:04a lucky escape.
37:05The experiment
37:06is far more
37:07dangerous than
37:08they dreamt.
37:09Their bunker
37:10is buried
37:11under the snow
37:12and they're
37:12trapped.
37:14They have to
37:15dig themselves
37:16out.
37:20But it's only
37:21when they emerge
37:22that they realize
37:23the full scale
37:23of the avalanche
37:24they've set off.
37:26The experiment
37:27is a harrowing
37:28vision of what
37:29the victims of
37:30Galtur, with no
37:31concrete bunker to
37:32protect them,
37:32must have
37:33experienced.
37:35The avalanche is
37:36much larger than
37:37they ever
37:37expected.
37:38Now, they need
37:40to find out
37:40why.
37:45They examine the
37:46data from the two
37:46Doppler radars,
37:47and with the new
37:48information, the
37:49scientists can see
37:50inside an avalanche
37:51in full descent.
37:55The bunker
37:56experiment reveals
37:57that as the
37:58avalanche cascades
37:59down the side of
37:59the mountain, it
38:00picks up fresh
38:01layers of snow
38:02that lie in its
38:03path.
38:07Scientists call
38:08this process
38:09entrainment.
38:13A crude way
38:14to describe
38:14entrainment
38:15could be being
38:16out on a slope
38:17that's all wet
38:17and rolling a
38:18snowball down
38:19the slope, and
38:20the snowball gets
38:20bigger and bigger
38:21as it goes to the
38:22bottom of the hill.
38:24In other words,
38:25the snow that got
38:26to the bottom of
38:27the steep part of
38:27the avalanche path
38:28could be two or
38:30three or four times
38:31as large as the
38:32avalanche that
38:33began.
38:36The Crater-Besser
38:37experiment astounds
38:38the scientists.
38:39They now know
38:40an avalanche can
38:41pick up 400 tons
38:42of snow every
38:43second of its
38:44descent.
38:51Could this be a
38:53major breakthrough
38:53in finding out
38:54why the avalanche
38:55blasted through
38:56Galtur's green
38:57zone?
39:00The investigation
39:01team feed the
39:02new data into
39:03their computer.
39:04They hope that
39:05this time it'll
39:06solve the central
39:07mystery of why
39:08the avalanche
39:09reached the
39:09heart of
39:09Galtur and killed
39:11so many people.
39:17With this new
39:18information and our
39:19advanced computer
39:20simulation, we can
39:21now reveal exactly
39:22what happened as we
39:24count down those
39:24final seconds from
39:26disaster.
39:36January 26th, 1999.
39:39Heavy snowfall hits the
39:40Galtur region for four
39:42days.
39:45From January 29th
39:47through to February
39:47the 4th, temperatures
39:49rise.
39:49Snow begins to melt,
39:51creating a weak layer on
39:52the snow cap above
39:53Galtur.
39:55February 5th, temperatures
39:57suddenly drop, and for
39:59the next 19 days, the
40:00Austrian Alps endure
40:01unseasonally high
40:03snowfall.
40:05Winds of 120 kilometers
40:07per hour help to build
40:08up a huge snowpack on the
40:10mountain above Galtur.
40:13February 23rd, the weak
40:15layer beneath supports an
40:17unusually large burden of
40:18snow, but only for so
40:20long.
40:24Two minutes to disaster.
40:29A giant snow slab,
40:31estimated to weigh 170,000
40:33tons, the equivalent of
40:35428 fully laden jumbo jets,
40:38breaks away from the
40:39mountain.
40:41Galtur lies directly in its
40:43path.
40:5160 seconds to disaster.
40:53The avalanche rushes down
40:55the mountain.
40:57Calculations now show it
40:59increases in size by an
41:01estimated 20,000 tons.
41:04It reaches a top speed of
41:06417 kilometers per hour.
41:17401, disaster strikes Galtur.
41:21The enormous force penetrates
41:23the village's three zones,
41:24including the green safe zone.
41:37402, the avalanche finally
41:40runs out of power.
41:41Galtur is in ruins, and 56
41:44people are buried under tons of
41:46snow and ice.
41:50Investigators now know why the
41:52monster avalanche decimated
41:53Galtur, but they still need to
41:55solve one final piece of the
41:57puzzle.
41:58Why did the worst destruction
42:00occur inside the green zone,
42:02the place everyone believed
42:03was the safest?
42:084 p.m.
42:10The avalanche weighing 170,000
42:13tons strikes the outskirts of
42:14Galtur.
42:16The heavy, dense layer of snow
42:18hits buildings with an
42:19enormous force, the equivalent
42:21of a 25-ton truck hitting a
42:23brick wall at 80 kilometers per
42:25hour.
42:28But the upper, lighter layer of
42:30powder snow is traveling at
42:31417 kilometers per hour and
42:34penetrates a further 100 meters
42:36into Galtur's safe zone.
42:41Although it carries less force
42:42than the bottom layer, it
42:44throws Krister and Helmut
42:45Kaepelnur 50 meters.
42:49This powder avalanche blasts
42:51through windows and doors,
42:52rapidly filling buildings with
42:54fine snow.
42:58It engulfs the priest's house
43:00where Maria Wolf is working.
43:13At 4.01 p.m., powder snow
43:15envelops more houses in the safe
43:17green zone.
43:18Many are lightweight buildings
43:20that weren't made to withstand
43:21the power of an avalanche.
43:25As the enormous pressure builds up
43:27inside, whole chalets explode
43:30as if detonated by bombs.
43:414.02 p.m.
43:43The powder snow packs one last
43:45killer punch.
43:46When it settles, it compacts
43:49and sets rock hard.
43:50In situations that I've observed
43:52where powder clouds in small to moderate
43:55and sometimes large avalanches
43:57have been compressed against
43:58solid objects like trees,
44:00the material from the powder cloud
44:02has been compressed to a density
44:05so high and a strength so high
44:07that you could barely break the surface
44:11with a knife blade.
44:13When the powder snow sets,
44:15rescue efforts become virtually impossible.
44:25Krista's survival is a miracle.
44:27An upturned car provided her
44:29with a pocket of air
44:30that lasts for three hours.
44:34Her husband Helmut, however,
44:36is not so lucky.
44:42Years later, Krista Kaepelner
44:44is still under treatment
44:45for spinal injuries.
44:46But the trauma of her ordeal
44:48and the loss of her husband
44:50has left deeper scars.
44:55But life goes on
44:56and I need to look forward
44:58and be grateful
44:59for the time I spent with my husband.
45:05The Galtier avalanche is over
45:06in less than three minutes.
45:09In that time,
45:10it causes the death of 31 people,
45:13injures many more
45:14and rips the heart
45:15out of this peaceful
45:17mountain community.
45:18Scientists calculate
45:20that the freak combination
45:21of circumstances
45:22creating such a destructive avalanche
45:24is unlikely to be repeated
45:26in Galtur
45:26in the next 200 years.
45:31But the authorities
45:33responsible for all
45:34Austrian mountain communities
45:35are taking no chances.
45:38They build huge defenses
45:40to protect the village.
45:42An avalanche barrier
45:44two meters thick
45:45and a wall
45:46360 meters long
45:47and seven meters high
45:48now confronts the Alpine range.
45:52And high above the village
45:54on the mountain ridge,
45:5511 kilometers of fencing
45:57prevents the buildup
45:58of large slabs of snow.
46:01It should stop
46:02such enormous avalanches
46:04in the future.
46:05The Galtur example
46:07was,
46:07I hate to say it,
46:09but it was actually useful.
46:10But we have to learn
46:12from the mistakes
46:12and this is a process
46:14that continues
46:15and will continue
46:16in the future.
46:18The hard lessons
46:20learned at Galtur
46:21have created
46:22new levels of understanding
46:23in the field
46:24of avalanche prediction
46:25throughout the world.
46:28300 people on average
46:29are still killed
46:30by avalanches each year.
46:32But the tragedy
46:33at Galtur
46:34has helped to ensure
46:35that people who live,
46:36work and play
46:37in the mountains
46:37are now safer
46:39than ever before.
47:01The Galtur
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