PART OF GLACIER FALLS

Grey River Argus, 22 September 1945, Page 3

PART OF GLACIER FALLS

At Homer Tunnel Entrance AVALANCHE SHELTER DEEPLY ENGULFED P.A INVERCARGILL, Sept. 21 Access to the entrance to the avalanche shelter extending from the eastern portal of the Homer funnel is at present completely blocked by a huge mass of snow and ice. An avalanche crashed from heights earlier in the week, hit the ground near the tunnel mouth, and spread all over the shelter, which is now covered bv 20 feet of snow and ice. There were no persons in the vicinitv at the time. It is possible to enter the tunnel on foot. Unless there are warm rains, it may be Christmas before vehicular traffic is able to get through. The shelter is built in sections. One of these near the tunnel mouth has been destroyed. It is at this point that the tunnel can be entered on loot. > Further out is an impassable mass of debris. Whether the rest of the shelter has been damged will- not be known until the snow and ice melt. An officer of the Public Works Department visited the tunnel this week. He believes that it will be intact. The avalanche was describect as a very heavy one. It carried more ice than'those of 1936 and 1937. when loss of life occurred. This suggests that it came from one of the permanent glaciers. The colour, was the same as that seen on the glaciers and there were crevasses from It) to 20 feet deep. The mountain tops are reported to be much more heavily coated with snow than usual fpr this time of the year. It is stated I hat it is a rare occurrence for pam. of the glacier to break away. Previous avalanches were practically all snow from higher peaks. Several sheds were found damged at the tunnel this week. It is believed that this was caused by a sharp displacement of air when the avalanche hit the ground.