Lapland police announced Tuesday that they have concluded investigations into the deaths of a woman and a minor in the Pallas fells avalanche of January 2, 2024.
The exact course of events that led to the deaths of a mother and her young son remain uncertain. However, GPS tracking records the hikers as having taken a short break before undertaking a 90 degree deviation from the designated track.
According to police, when the woman made an emergency call at 2:09 pm, she was located around 400m off the official Hetta-Pallas summer route. GPS records place the hiker some 50-70 metres from the starting area of the avalanche at this time. Shortly afterwards, the pair were caught in the fatal snowslide.
Police do not know why the duo turned away from the track, however, the wind direction at the time suggests they may have been pursuing equipment that had blown away or possibly seeking shelter lower down the fells.
Hikers were well equipped
Police concluded that both hikers had appropriate equipment, in good condition and were warmly dressed. The mother had a phone, a GPS locator and a paper map. Both devices were charged and the woman also had several charged backup power sources with her.
The investigation found that the actual steepness and shape of the slope had been difficult to observe from the GPS mapping device used. In the setting that it had been used, there were few elevation curves and the terrain appeared gentler than in reality.
