Joey's Blog

Written by Phillip Gossett in 1864:

"The ground on which we stood began to move slowly.  I soon sank up to my shoulders and began descending backwards.  The speed of the avalanche increased rapidly, and before long I was covered up with snow.  I was suffocating when I suddenlly came to the surface again.  I was on a wave of the avalanche and saw it before me as I was carried down.  It was the most awful sight I ever saw.  The head of the avalanche was already at the spot where we had made our last halt.  The head was prceded by a thick cloud of snow-dust; the rest of the avalanche was clear.  Around me I heard the horrid hissing of the snow and far before me the thundering of the foremost part of the avalanche.  To prevent myself sinking again I made use of my arms much in the same way as when swimming in a standing position.  At last I noticed that I was moving slower; then I saw the pieces of snow in front of me stop at some yards distant; then the snow straight before me stopped and I heard on a large scale the same creaking sound that is produced when a heavy cart passes over frozen snow in winter.  I felt that I also had stopped, and instantly threw up both arms to protect my head in case I should again be covered up.  I had stopped, but the snow behind me was still in motion; its pressure on my body was so strong that I thought I should be crushed to death.  This tremendous pressure lasted but a short time: I was covered up by snow coming from behind me.  My first impulse was to try to uncover my head - but this I could not do, for the avalanche had frozen by pressure the moment it stopped, and was frozen in."