Avalanche on Toubkal

Climbing to Toubkal (the highest peak in Morocco and all of North Africa) considered a relatively simple undertaking. Climbing with The approach and departure takes only 2-3 days. Tourists go to Toubkal all the time year They must be accompanied by local guides (for money, of course). On The classic route does not have particularly steep sections. In general, everything wonderful...

However, we must remember that even in Africa you can get into avalanche Below is a translation of an English-language article about rescue efforts in Toubkal at the end of February 2017. Everything ended well, but some The details make you think seriously. For example, note that from It was almost time before the avalanche occurred before the injured tourist was taken to the hospital. two days. While you read, think about what you could do to improve your chances of survival if you get caught in an avalanche. And in At the end of the article I will present my thoughts on this topic.

Moroccan man rescues Swiss tourist from avalanche in Toubkal

Omar Ait Ahmad, a 25-year-old youth from Toubkal, tells the story of dramatic rescue in the mountains in an exclusive interview with Morocco World News.

"I'm going to tell you the story from the beginning," Ait sighed Ahmad, and his voice was still full of pain.

The story began on Saturday, February 25, when a Swiss woman and her partner went on a hike to Mount Toubkal. They couldn't know that this was the solution will prove fatal, and that nature itself will turn against them.

“On their way to the top they reached a hill which is at a distance from 30 to 100 meters from the top,” said Ait Ahmad. "Below the hill there is a dangerous a fault covered with avalanche snow. As soon as they stepped on the edge, a couple fell."

Ait Ahmad, who was walking 20 meters from the couple, suddenly saw the screaming tourists. “When people saw the couple fall, they all screamed, I quickly ran to the scene and saw that the avalanche had carried away a woman down." The man continued to cling to the slope, with the help equipment.

“We quickly threw him a rope, pulled him out and called a guide to escort him to the shelter,” said Ait Ahmad.

In an avalanche

After the man was rescued, the rescuer switched to the rescue women. Ait Ahmad recalled that a group of Spanish rescuers examined this area, accompanied by two Moroccan gendarmes. They tried go down to explore the entire path of the avalanche, which covered approximately 900 meters.

“We walked about 700 meters and got stuck; we have reached a difficult place on our way, and we could go no further. Besides, we no longer had ropes because we used them all,” said Ait Ahmad.

However, Ait Ahmad was determined to save the woman. "I asked rescuers to help me get down below. But they told me that “They can’t risk their lives, and they also dissuaded me from going down.”

Ait Ahmad continued to tell the story, saying that by 2:00 p.m. climbed back up the avalanche flow, unable to save the woman.

Early Sunday morning

After a woman spent the entire night with temperatures below 12°C, Ait Ahmad and his friend were determined to save her. “We went for repeated search early Sunday morning, at exactly 4 am. There were four of us. To save her, we took a different, roundabout route - far around the mountain.

It took them the whole day and only at 9 o'clock on Sunday evening they The tourists were finally able to reach.

“We found her with a severe fracture to her right ankle. She was very cold so we helped her change clothes and fed her,” continued Ait Ahmad. “A man came to check if she was still alive, to call medical helicopter and take her to the hospital.”

All's well that ends well

Ait Ahmad and his friend helped the tourist down using ropes.

“Indeed, we agreed to help her go down. First she screamed because of the pain in her ankle, but later we were able to help her lie down in a comfortable position position so as not to hurt her.”

Over the next hour, they helped the woman down the mountain while they fellow rescuers did not come with two gendarmes and a stretcher. Then when they reached the river, they spent the next seven hours getting to helicopter that took the exhausted tourist to Mohammed VI Hospital in Marrakesh.

The woman underwent surgery on Monday morning. "Since then we have not no information about her condition,” concluded Ait Ahmad.

The story of the heroic rescue went viral on social media after of Ait Ahmad posting a video showing how he helps women to go down the mountain, which is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Morocco.

Original article here

Conclusions

As strange as it may sound, this Swiss tourist was incredibly lucky. She was dragged by an avalanche for a whole kilometer and was not flattened on the rocks or buried in the thickness of the snow mass. In general, it is believed that the only effective way to escape an avalanche is to not get caught in it. After all, most people caught in an avalanche die almost immediately, but the Swiss woman survived for more than a day. By the way, the temperature indicated in the article seemed rather strange to me - “15 degrees Celsius”. It probably means that it was 15 degrees below zero at night (quite typical temperature for such altitudes). In this case, the question arises: did the tourist have frostbite? With a broken leg, she could not actively move and her toes (especially the victim’s) were simply bound to freeze even if the tourist managed to bury herself in the snow. Again, we don’t know from the article whether the victim was on the surface at the time of discovery or whether she was dug up. Unfortunately, I was unable to find other sources of information on this incident online - several notes found on German-language Swiss sites are essentially a retelling of the same interview with Ait Ahmad.

While looking for additional information on the incidents on Toubkal, I came across a mention of the crash of a rescue helicopter in February 2015. It tried to pick up a tourist from the UAE from the slopes of Toubkal, but fell due to strong winds. And in the winter of 2018, for the same reason, the helicopter could not fly to the mountain to rescue the British tourist. As a result, he died, either from the “mountain sickness” itself, or as a result of a fall caused by a miner.

Therefore, when planning to climb, on the one hand, be sure to take care of helicopter insurance, and on the other hand, remember that the helicopter may simply not arrive and you will have to descend on the ground. In this regard, one cannot fail to note the strength and courage of the Swiss tourist. Watch the video above - she is dragged through the snow, hooked with a rope on her broken leg, and at the same time she is conscious and not only does not scream, but also tries to smile!

What to do?

So what can you do to reduce the risks?

• Do not go closer than 1.5 m to the edge of cliffs - there may be extensive snow cornices
• Try not to walk along couloirs and other “bumps” of the slope. According to them an avalanche may arrive from above
• Research avalanche safety recommendations in advance
• Before the assault, practice “cutting yourself to death” (self-arrest ice ax)
• A supply of warm clothes, a thermos of tea and a few nutritional items wouldn’t hurt bars in your pocket
• Don’t go to the mountains alone
• The more radios there are in a group, the easier it will be to coordinate rescue operations
• Ideally, a complete avalanche kit (beeper, probe and shovel) for every tourist. In Imlil rental of such a set costs 20 Euro per day.
• Write down the Moroccan emergency numbers and your insurance company into your phone. Charge your phone before heading out.