Alaska Avalanche Specialists/Alaska Windjammer Kites

09/08/2026

These ice avalanches, glacier ice falling off the mountains, are becoming more and more common as the mountains thaw. Runouts can be long, and being hit by ice is much worse than being hit by snow. Areas normally thought of as low-risk are not so safe any more. As always, our hearts go out to all affected.

A massive wall of snow and ice swept through the Bezengi Gorge in Kabardino-Balkaria as 33 climbers were in the area; authorities say 11 were killed, six remain missing and dozens of rescuers are searching with helicopter support

08/29/2026

Most-current photos of the Nepal slide site show a massive bedrock landslide scarp.

08/29/2026

Clearer images reveal that, yes, the Nepal glacier ice did slide, but the cause was massive failure and landslide in the underlying bedrock that carried the glacier along with it. So the cause is landslide rather than ice avalanche.

08/28/2026

We finally have credible confirmation from Reuters, based on satellite photo analysis, that the Nepal floods were caused by a large ice avalanche off the middle elevations of the north face of Lantang Lirung peak. Retreating glaciers thin and lose the support of the ice below, commonly leading to the remaining ice sliding away. With big Himalayan mountain scale of ice volume, vertical drop, and narrow, steep valleys, the resulting waves of rock, mud, water, and remnant ice chunks were incredibly long-running and destructive.

UPDATE: As of Aug 29, clearer post-slide imagery shows that the cause was NOT an ice avalanche, but a landslide that carried the glacier along on top of a massive bedrock rupture.

08/27/2026

Early report on the cause of the Nepal flood.

08/26/2026

It appears that the Bhotekhosi flood in Nepal may have been outburst from an upstream dam created by a glacier ice and rock avalanche.
https://www.instagram.com/p/DcgMwvQyfcx/

08/26/2026

It looks like the Bhotekoshi flood in Nepal may have been caused by outburst from a dam created by a glacier ice and rock avalanche upstream.
https://www.instagram.com/p/DcgMwvQyfcx/

05/26/2026

We blasted South Glacier Mountain today. Temperatures warmed sharply, reaching 19°C in town and 13°C at Glacier, and the snow softened to the ridges, but we did not get widely-propagating slabs, nor were they triggering secondary slides, or entraining much material. Most slides were relatively small, and none came anywhere near the rails. We had our best results below 1500m, and noted stepped fractures there due to the multiple weak layers formed by our crazy winter weather this year. We jumped on the weather window because it looks showery for a while, and we should be good until the next major warmup now. Shgagwei, Lkoot Kw'aan, Lingít Aaní.