How many climbers died including Andreas Hinterstoisser while climbing the Eiger north face?
Andreas Hinterstoisser Andreas Hinterstoisser (3 October 1914 – 21 July 1936) was a German mountain climber active in the 1930s. He died during an attempt to climb the Eiger north face with his partner Toni Kurz. A section of the north face was later named the "Hinterstoisser Traverse" in his honor. The 2008 film "North Face" was based on his experience climbing the Eiger.
1999 Galtür avalanche The Galtür avalanche occurred on 23 February 1999 in the Alpine village of Galtür, Austria. It took less than 60 seconds to hit Galtür. At 50 m high and traveling at 290 km/h , this powder avalanche hit with great force, overturning cars, ruining buildings and burying 57 people. By the time rescue crews managed to arrive, 31 people – locals and tourists – had died. This avalanche was considered the worst Alpine avalanche in 40 years. Three major weather systems originating from the Atlantic accounted for large snowfalls totaling around four meters in the area. Freeze-thaw conditions created a weak layer on top of an existing snow pack; further snow was then deposited on top. This, coupled with high wind speeds, created large snow drifts and caused roughly 170,000 tons of snow to be deposited.