An avalanche is coming! Quick, walk for your lives! If you wait a few more minutes you'll have to jog!

http://videosift.com/video/Moso-survives-slow-motion-avalanche-THANK-YOU-ROADS

Run, run, run.

*related=http://videosift.com/video/Big-avalanche-cuts-off-Valdez-Alaska-from-roads

Great footage of the massive Alaskan avalanche on the road has been added as a related post - related requested by deathcow on that post.

Big avalanche cuts off Valdez, Alaska from roads has been added as a related post - related requested by deathcow.

The point from 1:31 to 6:00, when he's just alone, under the snow, waiting to die...
I dunno.
I might never want to see a snowflake again.
If he had no friends around; or if the avalanche had expanded and taken them out too...

Oh, man that was disturbing.
..and if this doesn't convince you that it isn't easy to dig yourself out after an avalanche.. remember that in episode S02E16 "Out in the cold", MacGyver was buried in an avalanche, and couldn't get himself out. Good thing Pete is such a good friend and wouldn't let the rescue team stop looking until Mac was able to fashion a blow gun from his ski pole, and a signal parachute from his bandana and a zipper pull.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yG3Iapth75I

I liked how some of them were wearing avalanche transceivers... wonder how long you'd survive if you got buried in the snow naked?

Mostly because most people are lazy honestly lol Which is ironic when you think about it. But generally speaking, most well marked trails will warn you of sudden changes like this. Part of the IMBA trail building guide is designing courses so they flow the way the rider would expect.

Honestly, in this case it does seem like a bout of stupidity mixed in with failure to properly mark the course. It would have been product to ask a LBS about the trail before riding it, as to avoid mistakes like this, or a sudden trail condition like a washout or avalanche.

In my own personal opinion: they were riding too fast for that section. It's like when a New Yorker comes down to Florida . . . they just fly on the interstates because they can. A smart rider knows when to speed up, and more importantly, when to slow down.

With drops and banks like these, they're not ultra expert by any means, but it certainly would be good as you said to know the map.

As for riders ride close, well, it varies. On road, it's drafting. Off road, you're not going to get the same wind resistance so it mostly just becomes a skill challenge. Many riders will ride ultra close like that so they can learn each others rhythms and ride better together. So in the event they do race, they're prepared.

When I lead rides, I always know who's going to up on my wheel and who's going to lag back. The ones who lag are the ones taking lessons and notes, and the ones right on my wheel are challenging themselves to keep up. I'm a very aggressive rider and frankly, I do some seriously stupid stuff. The ones on my wheel, either make it or don't. And there's been plenty of don'ts. The ones lagging behind are the safer ones. But that's not always the case in a fast changing course. If you want to know what the trail ahead is doing, you follow a leader who knows the course. They can tell you what's about to come up, or if they do something wrong they can warn you.

But you are correct in thinking that riding close like that can really be risky if the person in front falls. It's a give/take thing. Determine the amount of risk that's acceptable and prepare for that.

That's a medium to small sized landslide/avalanche.

This is a pretty big one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7uoqAU0BZ4w

I'd say the one here is 1/5th to 1/10th the size.

Landslide... or dirty avalanche?

Vimeo description:

Animated by Austin illustrator Divya Srinivasan, this animated video depicts three sleepy ghost kids following a heterochromic fox through a snowy twilight. When the group discovers an impromptu critter disco in a forest clearing, the spirits and strays dance in harmony until a cranky babushka bemoans the noise and breaks up the party. Thus, the spectral youths return to the astral plane... but not without a final farewell to their new found animal friends.

Divya Srinivasan has previously created animated videos for Spoon ("Everything Hits at Once"), They Might Be Giants, The Sundance Channel and Wonder Showzen, and worked on Richard Linklater's "Waking Life" feature film. Divya's illustration portfolio includes numerous pieces for the New Yorker magazine, as well as the album artwork for Sufjan Stevens' Illinois and This American Life's "Stories of Hope and Fear" collection.

"I Saw The Bright Shinies" is from The Octopus Project's album "Hello, Avalanche," released in 2007 on Peek-A-Boo Records. The "Bright Shinies" video appears on the "Golden Beds" enhanced CD EP released in 2009 on Peek-A-Boo Records.

peekaboorecords.com/octopusproject
theoctopusproject.com
myspace.com/theoctopusproject
pupae.com/portfolio

*length=4:10

Would you say it's an avalanche of men?

Your video, Skier triggers a mini avalanche and then...wait for it, has made it into the Top 15 New Videos listing. Congratulations on your achievement. For your contribution you have been awarded 1 Power Point.

backflippin so bitchin'ly that you stop an avalanche.