white death
Deadly mountain slide
White death refers to death from tuberculosis, which earned the name from victims' pallid appearance as the disease progressed.
The phrase also describes death from hypothermia or blizzard conditions—the white of snow claiming lives.
In World War II, white death was the Finnish nickname for sniper Simo Häyhä, who killed hundreds of Soviet soldiers in winter camouflage.
- avalancheRapid mountain snow collapse
- blizzardViolent prolonged snowstorm
- powder snowDry, loose snowfall
- snowFrozen crystalline precipitation
- tuberculosisMycobacterial lung disease
plague · Finnish · Winter War · sniper · winter · cold snap · frostbite · hypothermia · pale · cold · frozen · lethal · silent killer · pale rider · epidemic · consumption · skiing · burial