The White Death Page #3

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More people have probably died

in the world as a result

of this weak layer than

any other weak layer there is.

These snow crystals can be

more dangerous than dynamite.

Fluctuations in temperature

cause some crystals

to lose cohesion

and become slippery.

These frozen ball bearings

allow everything above to slide.

Notice I have my hand ready

just in case.

Okay now we have a

free standing column.

Want to make sure the ski

is nice and vertical.

See how that came out just like

it's spring loaded?

By integrating all that

information together

there should be a picture flashing

in front of your mind.

And the picture is one of

the serious instability that exists

from a human triggered

point of view.

And so the message there is

to stay away

from steep leeward smooth slopes

because those are the ones that

are waiting to eat you.

What I want you to do is

on the count of three.

I want you to go. One. Two. Three.

Up in the air punch your heels

in real hard. Ready Banzai warriors?

One two three. Banzai!

An avalanche on the move

is a dynamic event,

a slab will rip out new slabs,

transforming, becoming ever larger,

and triggering billowing clouds

of powder.

Fortunately, nature can warn

of avalanches

with subtle sights and sounds.

But if you're hard blasting

a 130 horsepower vehicle

at 85 miles per hour,

it's unlikely that you'll hear

or see any of nature's warnings.

Snowmobiles can swiftly invade

the heart of avalanche country.

Riders enjoy jetting up

a steep incline as high as they can,

unwittingly teasing

a potential avalanche.

The game is called "high marking."

Whoever gets the highest wins.

These snowmobilers almost lost it

all one morning near Kellogg, Idaho

A friend videotaped the action as

a wall of snow came plunging down.

They would all escape unharmed

and spend the rest of the afternoon

tempting fate on other slopes.

But in January 1998,

three friends exhilarated by

a crisp clear day outside of Bend,

Oregon were not so lucky.

It was all virgin snow.

Everything was smooth and

just real billowy and soft looking.

And being the first one to make

the tracks is kind of a thrill.

That's where you really get your

adrenaline going

and just let the throttle do

what you can with the machine.

And we could get twenty or

thirty miles away

from anything and see country

see a lot of country in a day

that was nobody else was around.

The snow just looked like a big

a big pillow

it was just smooth

and soft looking.

When you got on it it would kind

of fall apart beneath you

because there was nothing holding

it from below.

Both Art and I looked at this

big clearing off to the right of us.

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