A powerful spring avalanche descended on New Zealand's highest peak

A massive "wet board" avalanche has been recorded near New Zealand's highest peak, Aoraki. The collapse occurred near the Freshfield Glacier at around 1:00 p.m. and was caught on video.

According to the national avalanche service, the movement of snow was triggered by a natural rockfall. The avalanche broke out at an altitude of about 2,000 meters, covered about 1,500 meters of slope length and descended 800 meters vertically. No one was injured as a result of the incident.

The Aoraki massif has been declared moderate, level two, for avalanche danger. Due to warm weather and recent rainfall, the snowpack remains wet and unstable, so falling rock debris and the collapse of seracs can easily trigger new landslides on the slopes.