– It was disgusting. I saw how the whole side cracked open. On Saturday morning, the tow truck driver was at the top of the Blomlia ski center at Førde in Sunnfjord to clear the snow. In recent days there has been a lot of wind and squalls and Stian Lunde Njøsen wanted to plan out parts of the area. Then, within seconds, a slide of between 50 and 80 meters was unleashed. – It happened quickly. The entire left side of the tractor and the entire driver’s side were covered by the avalanche. Large amounts of snow covered the tractor when the avalanche occurred. Photo: Privat In addition, the window on the driver’s side was open, but amazingly no snow got in. The snow that came down covered both the belt and the loading platform. Several people had to help for well over an hour to get the machine free. At most, the break edge was around three metres. Today, the driver can proudly boast that he was sitting inside a machine when the landslide occurred. Firda told the driver’s story first. – I have been hiking here since 2013. I have never experienced such a big race here. This is what it looked like after the tractor was removed from the landslide area. Photo: Private Popular area The slide went right at the top of the ski centre, by the turning wheel. It is an area where there are always skiers. Many people take the lift to the top, and then they go further up to get a steeper ride. The area is also popular for hikers who want to walk in the area around the 750 meter high peak Fureviknipa. The ski center chose to close the upper part of the ski center after the incident. – The concern is that the entire edge of the mountain may come, so we have therefore chosen to disembark before the top masts. It is inadvisable to let children out there now. Stian Lunde Njøsen has driven a towing machine at Blomlia ski center since 2013. Photo: Privat Significant avalanche danger Over large parts of the country there is now a significant avalanche danger, according to varsom.no. Both in Northern Norway, in Western Norway and in Western Telemark there is danger level 3, which is a significant avalanche danger. – When there are changes in temperature and severe mild weather, the snow cover is weakened. Then there can be naturally triggered avalanches, says Emma Julseth Barfod, supervisor in the avalanche warning at NVE. There are persistent weak layers in Austafjells due to the cold period in the past. There has been a lot of snow that can cause large landslides. In various parts of the country there are large amounts of snow now, according to varsom.no Photo: Private On a general basis, she says it is demanding to assess the avalanche danger now in mid-winter with such changing weather conditions. – In the next few days, the risk of avalanches will decrease somewhat, but there will still be danger level 3 in various parts of the country. So far this winter, two people have lost their lives in avalanche accidents. One in Hemsedal and one in Isfjorden in Rauma municipality.
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Should have cleared snow at the ski resort – then the avalanche came – news Vestland
