Cadaver Gap Avalanche

This is the route on the Cowlitz Glacier that traverses below Cadaver Gap to Cathedral Rocks. During our descent, just below Camp Muir, I heard a sound like thunder. I turned around and saw a huge avalanche coming down from Cadaver Gap and Gibraltar Rock through the center area of this picture. Some of the rocks in the snow were as big or larger than three-story houses. If it had occured 40 minutes earlier, I would have been killed. Notice the three small climbers on the trail. Photographed from Camp Muir 10,000 feet, July 23, 2005.