90 Avalanche

CHAPTER 1 The Worst Avalanche in US History IN THE COLD WINTER OF 1910, TRAlNS RUNNING THROUGH THE CASCADE MOUNTAINS IN WASHINGTON STATE WERE AT RISK OF ACCIDENTS. DEEP SNOW FELL ON THE TRACKS... By February 21, snow was falling so heavily that it threatened to block the train lines. Managers of the Great Northern Railway Company were sent out to examine the situation. No one imagined the storms could last much longer, so the company decided the No. 25 passenger train and the No. 27 mail train could continue their journeys. They believed their snowplows would keep the lines clear.

1910年寒冷的冬天，美国历史上最严重的雪崩，穿越华盛顿州喀斯喀特山脉的火车有发生事故的危险。 厚厚的雪落在铁轨上。 到2月21日，雪下得如此之大，以至于有可能堵塞火车线路。 大北方铁路公司的经理们被派去检查情况。 没有人想到风暴会持续更长的时间，所以公司决定了第一号。 25号客运列车和5号线。 27列邮车可以继续他们的旅程。 他们相信他们的扫雪机会清理雪线。

However, a snowslide had already blocked the lines at Stevens Pass. On February 23, the two trains were stuck. The trains had no dining cars, so passengers ate in the Cascade Station dining hall with the workers. The snowplows tried unsuccessfully to clear the snow. The next day, the trains were moved to the larger town of Wellington. The delay made some passengers nervous, but things got worse. An avalanche hit the kitchen and dining hall in Cascade. The cooks who had served the passengers were killed instantly. When the passengers heard about the disaster, some asked to be moved from the train to a safer location, but the town hotel was full. Snow fell all weekend, trapping the trains. There were several more avalanches. In fear of their lives, some passengers left the train and walked down the mountain to a safer place.

然而，一场雪灾已经堵住了史蒂文斯山口的防线。 2月23日，两列火车被困。 火车上没有餐车，所以乘客们在喀斯喀特车站的餐厅和工人们一起吃饭。 扫雪机试图清除积雪，但没有成功。 第二天，火车被转移到更大的惠灵顿镇。 延误使一些乘客感到紧张，但情况变得更糟。 一场雪崩袭击了喀斯喀特的厨房和餐厅。 为乘客服务的厨师当场死亡。 当乘客听说这场灾难时，一些人要求从火车上转移到一个更安全的地方，但镇上的酒店已经住满了。 整个周末都在下雪，火车被困住了。 又发生了几次雪崩。 由于担心自己的生命安全，一些乘客下了火车，走下山去一个更安全的地方。

On February 28, a railroad employee, Joseph Pettit, led another group of passengers down the mountain. Unfortunately, the telegraph was out of action, so the remaining passengers could not be contacted. By the time Pettit returned, it was too late for them to leave. Then the storm changed. Snow was replaced by wind and rain— a perfect recipe for avalanches. At 1 a.m. on March 1, lightning hit a slab of snow above Wellington. A huge wall of snow started slipping down the hill towards the trains, which were full of sleeping passengers. Narrowly missing the town and its hotel, the avalanche struck the trains so hard that it threw them both nearly 50 meters down the mountain. Both trains were destroyed.

2月28日，铁路员工约瑟夫·佩蒂特（Joseph Pettit）带领另一群乘客下山。 不幸的是，电报坏了，所以无法联系到其他乘客。 佩蒂特回来的时候，他们已经来不及离开了。 然后风暴变了。雪被风和雨所取代——这是雪崩的完美配方。 3月1日凌晨1点，闪电击中了惠灵顿上空的一块雪。 一堵巨大的雪墙开始从山上向火车滑落，火车上坐满了熟睡的乘客。 雪崩几乎没有击中小镇和酒店，但对火车的冲击如此之大，以至于它们都被抛到了山下近50米的地方。 两列火车都被毁了。

People rushed to the crash site to look for survivors. A few people had been thrown clear of the rail cars and the snow. Others were found buried and were dug out. Newspapers reported that 96 people were killed 35 passengers, including eight children, and 61 railroad employees, including Joseph Pettit. Many of the dead were not recovered until the snow melted. Only 23 passengers survived. In an effort to forget the disaster, Wellington was renamed Tye. Later, a tunnel was built to take trains along a safer route, away from Wellington. But without the business the railroad brought into town, the people of Wellington soon left. Even though the town no longer exists, the Wellington Railway Disaster remains a disturbing reminder of the deadly power of snow.

人们冲到坠机现场寻找幸存者。 有几个人被甩出了火车车厢和雪地。 其他人被发现埋在地下，然后被挖出来。 据报纸报道，事故造成96人死亡，包括8名儿童在内的35名乘客和61名铁路员工，其中包括约瑟夫·佩蒂特。 许多死者直到雪融化才被找到。 只有23名乘客幸存。 为了忘记这场灾难，威灵顿被重新命名为泰伊。 后来，修建了一条隧道，让火车沿着一条更安全的路线行驶，远离惠灵顿。 但是由于没有铁路带来的生意，惠灵顿的人们很快就离开了。 尽管这个小镇已经不复存在，惠灵顿铁路灾难仍然令人不安地提醒着人们雪的致命力量。

CHAPTER 2 What Is an Avalanche? AN AVALANCHE IS A SUDDEN. LARGE FALL OF SNOW DOWN A MOUNTAIN SLOPE. There are different types of avalanches, but they are always caused by external triggers, whether man-made or natural. Geographical Causes The formation of an avalanche depends on several things. The angle of the slope, for example, must be flat enough to allow heavy snow to form, but steep enough for the avalanche to increase speed once it is moving.

第二章什么是雪崩？ 雪崩是突然的。雪从山坡上落下。 雪崩有不同的类型，但它们总是由外部触发引起的，无论是人为的还是自然的。 雪崩的形成取决于几个因素。 例如，斜坡的角度必须足够平坦，以便形成厚厚的积雪，但又必须足够陡峭，以便雪崩在移动时加快速度。

This is called the angle of repose, and it varies depending on the type of snowflake that has fallen. Colder, drier snow needs a shallower slope, whereas warm, wet snow can stick to very steep surfaces. Most avalanches form between an angle of 25 and 60 degrees. Weather Conditions Weather plays a big role. Snow and rain increase the risk of an avalanche. Heavy blizzards add a large weight of fresh snow to the existing snow and can cause large pieces to break off. Rainstorms add to the weight of the water. They also weaken the existing layers as the rainwater sinks through the snow. The combination of sun and rain can cause thin layers of ice, called crusts, to form between the other layers. These crusts stop the snow layers from bonding, and this makes an avalanche more likely.

这被称为休止角，它的变化取决于飘落的雪花的类型。 较冷、干燥的雪需要较浅的斜坡，而温暖、潮湿的雪可以粘在非常陡峭的表面上。 大多数雪崩形成的角度在25到60度之间。 天气条件天气起着很大的作用。 雨雪天气增加了发生雪崩的危险。 严重的暴风雪会在原有的积雪上增加大量的新雪，并可能导致大块的积雪脱落。 暴雨增加了水的重量。 雨水在雪中下沉，也削弱了现有的土层。 太阳和雨水的结合会在其他层之间形成一层薄薄的冰，称为地壳。 这些地壳阻止了雪层的结合，这使得雪崩更有可能发生。