You can usually hear the helicopters as they take off from the nearby hospital in Tromsø. During March and April, our news desk takes extra notice: The sound of the rotors may very well be the first warning that something’s gone wrong — a little heads-up to the newsroom that our mountains have once again turned deadly.

As journalists, we know how quickly disasters can strike. Every year, we report on deadly avalanches in our district. Groups of skiers out enjoying the most spectacular slopes you can imagine suddenly find themselves living their worst nightmare. We try to report on it the best we can with the limited information we often have. At first, it is just a search for facts: How many are involved? Is anyone missing?

The limited time the rescue workers have is no secret. It’s usually the first thing mentioned regarding rescue operations in avalanches. Those involved know far too well how helpless a skier is once the masses of snow take him or her. 

The winter of 2022 was no exception. In just over two weeks, we covered three major avalanches in our region. Four people were killed. Several more were severely injured. 

A newsroom wake-up call

We had spoken about it at the news desk for quite some time: We had never explained to our readers what an avalanche accident actually entails and how quickly it can go wrong.

Of course, we had touched upon it several times before, especially when it hit our local community, but did our readers really understand how an avalanche can happen and how quickly you can end up in one, even though you are an experienced skier?

The evidence suggested no. 

For a long time, we had seen the comments, especially when the skiers involved were tourists. How the hell could they take such a risk? And how could they expect to be rescued after all the warnings about difficult snow conditions? It was clear to us that the resentful comments could largely be seen as a lack of understanding of the sport and its mindset. 

We decided to investigate one of the incidents in as much detail as possible, and thanks to the Moritz Müller family, we succeeded.

Müller was tragically killed on March 30, 2022, as he and four friends were skiing in Lyngen. He died instantly when tons of snow pulled him down the mountainside and into a tree. Three others in the ski group were critically injured. 

With the help of Moritz’s family, his skiing friends, rescue volunteers, emergency services, meteorologists, and experts within the sport, we told the story of the avalanche in Erikaksla in detail. Written by Rune Endresen and myself, the story outlined how complicated and chaotic the rescue operation had been, how critical the situation was for the surviving skiers, and how painful the loss of Moritz was to his family and friends. 

Telling the whole story

Our ambition with Skredet was to explain the scale of it all — not only the actual rescue operations and emergency response but also the terrible human costs of these accidents.

We told that story with bespoke visualisation comprising an animated depiction of the avalanche that blended various elements: a drone video from the rescue operation, detailed maps, our own drone footage post-accident, audio, timely photos and videos from the incident, accurate GPS locations of the five individuals found, their chosen route that day, and the exact spots where they conducted snowpit tests for avalanche risk and beacon checks.

The snow’s speed and volume were calculated using a globally recognised formula, supplemented by insights from NVE engineer Aron Widforss, who adjusted for local conditions like snow interaction with trees and mountain topography.

Our visualisations were created by Kristine Solberg and Hallvar Agersborg, with animations  from Kristoffer Lorentzen and Øyvind Lind. Using primarily Adobe and Vimeo, these visualisations unravel the buildup of dangerous snow layers weeks before the avalanche, pinpointing the cause of the accident. It integrated historical meteorological data (including snowfall, wind, and temperature) with visual representations of the evolving snowpack and a dynamic timeline.

This story is one of the most widely read in Nordlys’ history. It garnered significant attention and sparked regional and national debates. The average reading time exceeded seven minutes, and it has been featured in over 100 titles within the Amedia corporation, including regional and national newspapers.

Hopefully, it will serve as a lasting reminder of how quickly it all can go wrong and remind everyone to be as prepared and cautious as possible when setting out into those beautiful mountains.

Photography by Yngve Olsen.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .