"Humans trigger 90 percent of avalanche disasters, with as many as 40 deaths in North America each year. Most are climbers, skiers, and snowmobilers," according to the National Geographic.

It was very fortunate that in this incident of an avalanche in Mount Timpanogos, no one was hurt. Another good thing was that the beauty of this natural phenomenon was captured on camera by one of the skiers who were staying at Sundance Resort.

Photo: Reddit/u/NonAggressive-Ask

The video showed a massive white cloud of icy particles rolling down the mountainside from the area called Middle Finger. Voices filled with awe and concern could be heard in the footage.

"What the heck, bro," one of the men said. "That's one of the biggest avalanches I've ever seen in real life."

His companion remarked, "Dude, I hope nobody's down on the hill."

The skiers signed off as the cloud covered the ridge from where they were filming.

Photo: Reddit/u/NonAggressive-Ask

According to the Utah Avalanche Center, which also posted the video on their Facebook page, no was injured during the avalanche. They said that the falling masses of snow, ice, and rocks halted in the dry lakes region near the skiing terrain. However, the massive white cloud continued to spread for many more meters.

Where do these mesmerizing avalanche clouds come from?

First, we should know about the two major types of avalanches: Sluffs and slabs. According to Nat Geo, "Sluff avalanches occur when the weak layer of a snowpack is on the top. A sluff is a small slide of dry, powdery snow that moves as a formless mass. Sluffs are much less dangerous than slab avalanches."

Photo: Reddit/u/NonAggressive-Ask

On the other hand, they described a Slab Avalanche occurring "when the weak layer lies lower down in a snowpack. This layer is covered with other layers of compressed snow. When the avalanche is triggered, the weak layer breaks off, pulling all the layers on top of it down the slope. These layers tumble and fall in a giant block, or slab."

It is from these slabs that an avalanche cloud forms. The slab shatters into blocks which further break into smaller pieces. Some of these icy particles float in the air and become a cloud that travels at very high speed downhill.

The magnificent, white cloud that was seen in Utah was formed this way by a slab avalanche.

Yes, it's a mesmerizing beauty to watch from afar, but people must always bear in mind that avalanches are dangerous and they should do their best to get out of the way.

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