1 00:00:02,669 --> 00:00:05,069 Some call it the "White Death" 2 00:00:05,205 --> 00:00:09,301 and an ancient riddle asks, what flies without wings, 3 00:00:09,442 --> 00:00:14,038 strikes without hands and sees without eyes? 4 00:00:38,138 --> 00:00:42,802 Every year more than a million avalanches fall world wide. 5 00:00:48,815 --> 00:00:52,581 Avalanches are simply part of our planet's natural order. 6 00:00:52,719 --> 00:00:57,452 It is only when we get in their way that tragedy strikes. 7 00:01:07,567 --> 00:01:10,866 Utilizing unique methods, we continue our quest 8 00:01:11,004 --> 00:01:15,634 to better understand the dynamic power of raging snow. 9 00:01:29,155 --> 00:01:32,124 But the magic of the mountains lures us... 10 00:01:32,258 --> 00:01:35,955 more and more place themselves in harm's way. 11 00:01:46,005 --> 00:01:49,600 My machine just moved over me and everything just started moving 12 00:01:49,742 --> 00:01:53,644 and I just yelled. I just screamed "Help me God. 13 00:01:56,182 --> 00:01:58,650 My whole life's flashing in front of my eyes. 14 00:01:58,785 --> 00:02:02,881 You go to inhale and you were just inhaling a mouthful of snow. 15 00:02:03,022 --> 00:02:05,013 I was sure I was gonna die. 16 00:02:05,158 --> 00:02:08,491 They're not to be trusted. They're awesome terrible things. 17 00:02:08,628 --> 00:02:12,120 They'll rip you to shreds. They'll Maytag ya. 18 00:02:12,265 --> 00:02:14,665 Something we need to learn something about. 19 00:03:08,855 --> 00:03:11,289 Annapurna in Nepal, 20 00:03:11,424 --> 00:03:14,951 one of the most dangerous mountains in the world. 21 00:03:16,095 --> 00:03:19,064 October 15, 1997. 22 00:03:19,199 --> 00:03:23,397 Brothers Jose Antonio and Jesus Martinez Novas, 23 00:03:23,536 --> 00:03:25,868 veteran mountain climbers from Spain 24 00:03:26,005 --> 00:03:30,601 plan to ascend over 26,000 feet to the summit. 25 00:03:30,977 --> 00:03:32,842 Cameraman Allejandro Rocha 26 00:03:32,979 --> 00:03:35,504 is to record their departure from Camp 2 27 00:03:35,648 --> 00:03:38,014 and then await their return. 28 00:03:56,302 --> 00:03:59,931 Recent storms have left deep snow on the mountain side. 29 00:04:00,306 --> 00:04:04,242 It is slow going as the brothers set off to establish Camp Three 30 00:04:04,377 --> 00:04:07,471 some 3000 feet higher on the peak. 31 00:04:10,883 --> 00:04:13,010 An hour after they begin to climb 32 00:04:13,152 --> 00:04:16,781 they are just two tiny dots on the face of the mountain... 33 00:04:16,923 --> 00:04:20,222 as Allejandro shoots video from the tent. 34 00:05:29,962 --> 00:05:31,691 As he faces death. 35 00:05:31,831 --> 00:05:35,392 Allejandro captures a final self portrait. 36 00:05:39,272 --> 00:05:43,800 But just as it reaches the tent, the avalanche is spent. 37 00:05:43,943 --> 00:05:47,470 Allejandro is astonished to find himself alive, 38 00:05:47,613 --> 00:05:50,275 but has little hope for his friends. 39 00:06:07,300 --> 00:06:09,165 Are you alright? 40 00:06:25,084 --> 00:06:30,613 Like specters they emerge from the white eager to tell their tale. 41 00:07:56,809 --> 00:07:59,607 The following day the weather got worse 42 00:07:59,745 --> 00:08:02,509 and they were driven off Annapurna. 43 00:08:04,717 --> 00:08:09,552 Some 20 percent of the Earth's land mass is crowned by mountains. 44 00:08:10,189 --> 00:08:13,124 In the Andes, the Caucasus, the Himalaya, 45 00:08:13,259 --> 00:08:18,162 the Alps and the Rockies avalanches exert their terrible power. 46 00:08:19,065 --> 00:08:22,398 100,000 fall every year in the United States 47 00:08:22,535 --> 00:08:24,901 from Vermont to Alaska. 48 00:08:31,010 --> 00:08:34,173 And here deep in the back country of Alaska... 49 00:08:34,313 --> 00:08:38,773 Three experts are seeking to photograph the perfect avalanche. 50 00:08:39,619 --> 00:08:42,110 With cinematographer Steve roschel, 51 00:08:42,255 --> 00:08:46,919 world reknowned avalanche experts Doug Fesler and Jill Fredston, 52 00:08:47,059 --> 00:08:49,857 are here both to trigger the snow slide 53 00:08:49,996 --> 00:08:53,557 and ensure the safety of roschel's film crew. 54 00:08:53,966 --> 00:08:59,336 I realize the power of the avalanche and I try to capture that on film. 55 00:08:59,472 --> 00:09:00,871 I mean it really rouses people. 56 00:09:01,007 --> 00:09:03,635 It stirs in all of us something. I don't know, primeval. 57 00:09:03,776 --> 00:09:05,004 It's very interesting. 58 00:09:05,144 --> 00:09:06,702 But to get those images, 59 00:09:06,846 --> 00:09:10,873 I must go down into these dangerous zones 60 00:09:11,017 --> 00:09:12,678 where the avalanche is going to come down 61 00:09:12,818 --> 00:09:18,984 and if I make a mistake, if I'm wrong, it'll cost me my life. 62 00:09:19,125 --> 00:09:21,355 So being with people like Doug and Jill 63 00:09:21,494 --> 00:09:24,622 who are experts and know snow safety to a T. 64 00:09:24,764 --> 00:09:27,130 That's what their main objective is 65 00:09:27,266 --> 00:09:29,757 to make sure that I don't get killed. 66 00:09:30,436 --> 00:09:33,030 I'm aware of the lighting conditions that he wants. 67 00:09:33,172 --> 00:09:36,767 And I'm aware of the kind of avalanche he'd like to have. 68 00:09:36,909 --> 00:09:40,072 But sometimes I feel like I have to do a little reality check. 69 00:09:40,212 --> 00:09:43,875 Because there's exposure from crevasse fields 70 00:09:44,016 --> 00:09:47,144 that are in the run out zone, that people could fall down 71 00:09:47,286 --> 00:09:51,120 and have avalanche potential if they're on adjoining slopes. 72 00:09:51,257 --> 00:09:52,918 And so those are the things that I'm looking at. 73 00:09:53,059 --> 00:09:55,755 First and foremost I want to make it a safe spot. 74 00:09:55,895 --> 00:09:58,022 Can we go along this ridge to this little peak 75 00:09:58,164 --> 00:10:00,997 where that cornice is just go right along so I can look out. 76 00:10:01,133 --> 00:10:02,293 This is a good spot isn't it Doug? 77 00:10:02,435 --> 00:10:04,266 Well it's good so far up there. 78 00:10:04,403 --> 00:10:06,769 This kind of concerns me all those seracs up above 79 00:10:06,906 --> 00:10:07,930 as far as landing down there. 80 00:10:08,074 --> 00:10:09,200 We'll have to take a look at that. 81 00:10:09,342 --> 00:10:11,708 This is the peak right here. That should rip out Doug. 82 00:10:11,844 --> 00:10:14,506 I believe it will rip out. Doesn't that look good to you? 83 00:10:14,647 --> 00:10:17,343 I don't like it because of the crevasses. 84 00:10:17,483 --> 00:10:20,179 And some of the exposure to some of these chunks of ice 85 00:10:20,319 --> 00:10:21,411 up here coming off. 86 00:10:21,554 --> 00:10:23,146 I don't think it's safe. 87 00:10:24,657 --> 00:10:29,094 It takes several hours to find the spot that satisfies everyone. 88 00:10:29,228 --> 00:10:30,991 It looks like we could drop charges right down 89 00:10:31,130 --> 00:10:33,030 in that little pocket there where the cornice is. 90 00:10:33,165 --> 00:10:34,132 Doesn't that look good to you? 91 00:10:34,266 --> 00:10:35,528 Yeah. 92 00:10:35,668 --> 00:10:39,900 Lower 'em in there like it's my unborn son. 93 00:10:41,907 --> 00:10:46,503 One camera is positioned inside a padded steel crash box 94 00:10:46,646 --> 00:10:49,877 which is placed directly in the path of the avalanche. 95 00:10:50,016 --> 00:10:52,450 Timing is everything in this mission. 96 00:10:52,585 --> 00:10:55,645 The camera must begin shooting when the avalanche is triggered 97 00:10:55,788 --> 00:10:57,653 or it will all be for nothing. 98 00:10:57,790 --> 00:11:02,591 One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six. Seven. Eight. Nine. 99 00:11:02,728 --> 00:11:07,188 Ten. Eleven. Twelve. Thirteen. Fourteen. Fifteen. 100 00:11:08,134 --> 00:11:09,328 O! 101 00:11:09,468 --> 00:11:12,437 On your mark get set and go! 102 00:11:15,441 --> 00:11:20,469 Steve positions himself behind a second camera at a safe distance. 103 00:11:24,684 --> 00:11:25,742 Second one out. 104 00:11:25,885 --> 00:11:27,910 Okay keep going... keep going. 105 00:11:28,587 --> 00:11:30,145 Several sticks of high explosives 106 00:11:30,289 --> 00:11:33,281 will be used to trigger the avalanche 107 00:11:46,872 --> 00:11:49,340 Most avalanches are naturally triggered, 108 00:11:49,475 --> 00:11:53,605 when the weight of the snow excedes its ability to hold together. 109 00:11:53,746 --> 00:11:57,739 And most of these occur far from human eyes. 110 00:12:00,586 --> 00:12:04,454 I think the usefulness of seeing avalanches in motion 111 00:12:04,590 --> 00:12:05,989 is that a lot of the people that we deal 112 00:12:06,125 --> 00:12:07,524 with in our avalanche workshops 113 00:12:07,660 --> 00:12:09,525 have never seen an avalanche in motion before. 114 00:12:09,662 --> 00:12:11,323 But when they see this thing in motion 115 00:12:11,464 --> 00:12:12,931 and they see the power that's associated 116 00:12:13,065 --> 00:12:16,193 with an avalanche it's a wake up alarm 117 00:12:25,845 --> 00:12:28,075 Like the snowflakes they are composed of 118 00:12:28,214 --> 00:12:30,648 no two avalanches are alike. 119 00:12:30,783 --> 00:12:33,843 Even very small avalanches can kill, 120 00:12:33,986 --> 00:12:37,387 and the big ones are true monsters. 121 00:12:37,523 --> 00:12:40,720 They can attain speeds of over 200 miles per hour... 122 00:12:40,860 --> 00:12:44,296 traveling a mile or more on level ground. 123 00:12:59,178 --> 00:13:03,012 No place in avalanche country is entirely safe. 124 00:13:03,382 --> 00:13:07,011 In 1988 the Austrian town of St. Anton 125 00:13:07,153 --> 00:13:10,554 which had not experienced an avalanche in over 60 years, 126 00:13:10,689 --> 00:13:13,453 was struck just after dawn. 127 00:13:14,560 --> 00:13:17,757 Houses which had stood for almost 400 years 128 00:13:17,897 --> 00:13:20,195 were destroyed in an instant. 129 00:13:20,332 --> 00:13:24,792 Remote areas in less developed countries are the hardest hit. 130 00:13:24,937 --> 00:13:28,429 The greatest known avalanche disaster took place in Peru 131 00:13:28,574 --> 00:13:32,010 where an ice slide decimated the town of Yungay, 132 00:13:32,144 --> 00:13:35,045 killing 18,000 people. 133 00:13:36,448 --> 00:13:40,407 They're awesome terrible things. They'll rip you to shreds. 134 00:13:40,553 --> 00:13:42,418 They'll Maytag you. 135 00:13:42,555 --> 00:13:44,250 But they're also beautiful to watch, 136 00:13:44,390 --> 00:13:45,550 they're delicate, 137 00:13:45,691 --> 00:13:49,218 they're graceful, they dance. 138 00:13:49,361 --> 00:13:51,795 They're a double edged sword in that sense. 139 00:13:51,931 --> 00:13:53,626 They're not to be trusted. 140 00:13:53,766 --> 00:13:56,234 Something we need to learn something about. 141 00:13:58,370 --> 00:14:02,101 In the western world most avalanche victims place themselves 142 00:14:02,241 --> 00:14:03,708 in the path of danger, 143 00:14:03,843 --> 00:14:08,007 and see the mountains as a playground beautiful and benign. 144 00:14:08,147 --> 00:14:10,445 The interesting thing about avalanche accidents is that 145 00:14:10,583 --> 00:14:13,051 most of them happen on nice blue sky days. 146 00:14:13,185 --> 00:14:14,743 It's also very interesting to me 147 00:14:14,887 --> 00:14:17,720 that roughly 95% of the people who are caught in avalanches 148 00:14:17,857 --> 00:14:19,552 are the ones who triggered the avalanche. 149 00:14:19,692 --> 00:14:24,061 And really the question isn't really why is so and so getting caught, 150 00:14:24,196 --> 00:14:26,289 it's why did they let themselves get caught, 151 00:14:26,432 --> 00:14:29,799 because there's so much knowledge available today that nobody, 152 00:14:29,935 --> 00:14:33,393 nobody needs to get caught in an avalanche by accident. 153 00:14:36,475 --> 00:14:39,376 The trap is set over a period of time. 154 00:14:40,346 --> 00:14:42,837 One snow flake is light as a feather. 155 00:14:42,982 --> 00:14:45,678 But the stealthy accumulation of trillions can 156 00:14:45,818 --> 00:14:49,584 form massive layers weighing millions of pounds. 157 00:14:52,725 --> 00:14:55,193 What triggers slides can only be discovered 158 00:14:55,327 --> 00:14:57,625 by digging into the snow pack. 159 00:14:58,898 --> 00:15:01,662 Doug Fesler introduces a group of students 160 00:15:01,800 --> 00:15:04,894 to the deadly archeology of a slab avalanche. 161 00:15:05,037 --> 00:15:06,868 What kind of force is it gonna take to rip it out? 162 00:15:07,006 --> 00:15:08,564 That's all I really need to know. 163 00:15:08,707 --> 00:15:10,572 First of all do I have a slab? 164 00:15:10,709 --> 00:15:14,372 I'll start feeling here and I feel resistance as I pull down. 165 00:15:14,513 --> 00:15:15,673 It goes fairly hard to begin 166 00:15:15,814 --> 00:15:17,873 with now it's starting to go going a little easier. 167 00:15:18,017 --> 00:15:19,985 A little more resistance again. 168 00:15:20,119 --> 00:15:22,849 Right here a little bit easier. 169 00:15:22,988 --> 00:15:24,478 Right through here is a crust layer. 170 00:15:24,623 --> 00:15:26,022 Now it's very easy right in there. 171 00:15:26,158 --> 00:15:28,058 Another shear plane possibly. 172 00:15:28,193 --> 00:15:29,490 This is a nasty shear plane. 173 00:15:29,628 --> 00:15:32,028 Look how this stuff just falls out of here. 174 00:15:32,164 --> 00:15:36,066 Shear planes allow colossal avalanches to be set off 175 00:15:36,201 --> 00:15:38,829 by the slightest disturbance. 176 00:15:38,971 --> 00:15:44,773 We're corroborating the opinion we have about the hardness 177 00:15:44,910 --> 00:15:46,741 and weakness of these various layers. 178 00:15:46,879 --> 00:15:50,610 This stuff is so weak it... just falls out. 179 00:15:50,749 --> 00:15:53,547 Intermediate faceted snow. The sugar snow. 180 00:15:53,686 --> 00:15:55,779 More people have probably died in the world as a result 181 00:15:55,921 --> 00:15:59,049 of this weak layer than any other weak layer there is. 182 00:16:00,326 --> 00:16:04,092 These snow crystals can be more dangerous than dynamite. 183 00:16:04,229 --> 00:16:06,925 Fluctuations in temperature cause some crystals 184 00:16:07,066 --> 00:16:10,331 to lose cohesion and become slippery. 185 00:16:10,469 --> 00:16:15,463 These frozen ball bearings allow everything above to slide. 186 00:16:15,908 --> 00:16:19,275 Notice I have my hand ready just in case. 187 00:16:20,646 --> 00:16:22,876 Okay now we have a free standing column. 188 00:16:23,816 --> 00:16:26,478 Want to make sure the ski is nice and vertical. 189 00:16:29,388 --> 00:16:31,948 See how that came out just like it's spring loaded? 190 00:16:32,091 --> 00:16:34,116 By integrating all that information together 191 00:16:34,259 --> 00:16:36,750 there should be a picture flashing in front of your mind. 192 00:16:36,895 --> 00:16:40,262 And the picture is one of the serious instability that exists 193 00:16:40,399 --> 00:16:43,197 from a human triggered point of view. 194 00:16:43,335 --> 00:16:44,996 And so the message there is to stay away 195 00:16:45,137 --> 00:16:47,230 from steep leeward smooth slopes 196 00:16:47,373 --> 00:16:50,774 because those are the ones that are waiting to eat you. 197 00:16:50,909 --> 00:16:52,536 What I want you to do is on the count of three. 198 00:16:52,678 --> 00:16:55,579 I want you to go. One. Two. Three. 199 00:16:55,714 --> 00:17:01,311 Up in the air punch your heels in real hard. Ready Banzai warriors? 200 00:17:01,453 --> 00:17:05,321 One two three. Banzai! 201 00:17:08,961 --> 00:17:12,226 An avalanche on the move is a dynamic event, 202 00:17:12,364 --> 00:17:14,855 a slab will rip out new slabs, 203 00:17:15,000 --> 00:17:17,298 transforming, becoming ever larger, 204 00:17:17,436 --> 00:17:20,530 and triggering billowing clouds of powder. 205 00:17:58,177 --> 00:18:01,112 Fortunately, nature can warn of avalanches 206 00:18:01,246 --> 00:18:03,806 with subtle sights and sounds. 207 00:18:06,351 --> 00:18:10,082 But if you're hard blasting a 130 horsepower vehicle 208 00:18:10,222 --> 00:18:12,019 at 85 miles per hour, 209 00:18:12,157 --> 00:18:17,060 it's unlikely that you'll hear or see any of nature's warnings. 210 00:18:21,166 --> 00:18:25,398 Snowmobiles can swiftly invade the heart of avalanche country. 211 00:18:26,872 --> 00:18:31,002 Riders enjoy jetting up a steep incline as high as they can, 212 00:18:31,143 --> 00:18:34,442 unwittingly teasing a potential avalanche. 213 00:18:35,481 --> 00:18:38,006 The game is called "high marking." 214 00:18:38,150 --> 00:18:40,744 Whoever gets the highest wins. 215 00:18:41,253 --> 00:18:47,214 These snowmobilers almost lost it all one morning near ellogg, Idaho 216 00:18:47,693 --> 00:18:52,824 A friend videotaped the action as a wall of snow came plunging down. 217 00:19:09,181 --> 00:19:10,876 They would all escape unharmed 218 00:19:11,016 --> 00:19:15,953 and spend the rest of the afternoon tempting fate on other slopes. 219 00:19:17,289 --> 00:19:19,621 But in January 1998, 220 00:19:19,758 --> 00:19:24,286 three friends exhilerated by a crisp clear day outside of Bend, 221 00:19:24,429 --> 00:19:27,091 Oregon were not so lucky. 222 00:19:27,232 --> 00:19:28,699 It was all virgin snow. 223 00:19:28,834 --> 00:19:35,831 Everything was smooth and just real billowy and soft looking. 224 00:19:35,974 --> 00:19:40,206 And being the first one to make the tracks is kind of a thrill. 225 00:19:40,345 --> 00:19:41,869 That's where you really get your adrenaline going 226 00:19:42,014 --> 00:19:47,247 and just let the throttle do what you can with the machine. 227 00:19:47,386 --> 00:19:49,081 And we could get twenty or thirty miles away 228 00:19:49,221 --> 00:19:53,624 from anything and see country 229 00:19:53,759 --> 00:19:59,459 see a lot of country in a day that was nobody else was around. 230 00:19:59,898 --> 00:20:02,662 The snow just looked like a big a big pillow 231 00:20:02,801 --> 00:20:05,861 it was just smooth and soft looking. 232 00:20:06,004 --> 00:20:08,939 When you got on it it would kind of fall apart beneath you 233 00:20:09,074 --> 00:20:12,441 because there was nothing holding it from below. 234 00:20:13,812 --> 00:20:17,145 Both Art and I looked at this big clearing off to the right of us. 235 00:20:17,282 --> 00:20:18,874 Art took a couple of stabs at 236 00:20:19,017 --> 00:20:22,612 and I watched him go up the mountain or go up the slope. 237 00:20:22,754 --> 00:20:24,722 He must have gone up I don't know, 238 00:20:24,856 --> 00:20:27,689 I'm guessing six seven eight times. 239 00:20:27,826 --> 00:20:35,494 He came down and I decided to go up and I got up on top and I got stuck. 240 00:20:40,138 --> 00:20:42,663 At that point in time I was pretty much stuck like this. 241 00:20:42,808 --> 00:20:49,372 So I got off the low side of my sled and pulled down on my front ski. 242 00:20:49,514 --> 00:20:53,644 My machine just moved over me and everything just started moving. 243 00:20:59,925 --> 00:21:04,259 I was almost to the bottom getting ready to turn around and go back up. 244 00:21:04,396 --> 00:21:09,333 I just got a big push from behind and snow dust everywhere. 245 00:21:09,468 --> 00:21:12,130 And when the dust had gone down enough I turned around. 246 00:21:12,271 --> 00:21:14,501 The snowmobile was buried to the seat 247 00:21:14,640 --> 00:21:18,167 and my legs were buried right along with it. 248 00:21:18,310 --> 00:21:19,402 And I turned around 249 00:21:19,544 --> 00:21:23,810 and I could see the ski of Brian's snowmobile, but no Brian. 250 00:21:25,083 --> 00:21:30,282 Buried alive, Brian has little more than 30 minutes to live. 251 00:21:32,391 --> 00:21:38,728 And when everything came to a stop it just turned real dark. 252 00:21:40,866 --> 00:21:43,130 My eyes couldn't focus on anything. 253 00:21:43,635 --> 00:21:48,163 And I went into a very frantic time frame. 254 00:21:48,307 --> 00:21:52,903 After trying to get control of the situation and just calm down, 255 00:21:53,045 --> 00:21:57,744 I tried to move anything and everything I possibly could. 256 00:21:58,917 --> 00:22:02,375 I tried to move a finger in my glove inside my glove 257 00:22:02,521 --> 00:22:05,046 and I couldn't even do that. 258 00:22:05,357 --> 00:22:07,825 And I ran up to where his snowmobile was 259 00:22:07,959 --> 00:22:10,723 and looked around but I didn't see any sign of him. 260 00:22:10,862 --> 00:22:13,126 It's about the most helpless feeling you can have. 261 00:22:13,265 --> 00:22:15,563 You know that there's somebody that needs help 262 00:22:15,701 --> 00:22:18,397 and you don't have any idea where they are. 263 00:22:19,371 --> 00:22:23,330 The snow was compressed to my chin like this 264 00:22:23,475 --> 00:22:24,840 I... I could move... 265 00:22:24,976 --> 00:22:29,538 I felt my cheeks moving and my eye, my eyelids. 266 00:22:29,681 --> 00:22:34,516 I could only move my stomach inward. I just screamed. 267 00:22:34,653 --> 00:22:37,349 And after I calmed down 268 00:22:37,489 --> 00:22:41,357 I just remember saying "help me God." 269 00:22:42,060 --> 00:22:46,463 And we kinda started digging just with our hands within just a minute 270 00:22:46,598 --> 00:22:48,725 we realized that that wasn't getting us anywhere. 271 00:22:48,867 --> 00:22:51,597 We could only dig maybe a foot or two deep. 272 00:22:51,737 --> 00:22:53,500 It was just gonna take too long. 273 00:22:53,638 --> 00:22:56,630 So then I figured out that I thought we needed a probe. 274 00:22:56,775 --> 00:23:01,542 And I asked Mark if he had anything and all he had was a saw. 275 00:23:01,680 --> 00:23:05,081 So Mark took off with his saw to 276 00:23:05,217 --> 00:23:08,914 find a stick or tree or something that we could use. 277 00:23:09,888 --> 00:23:13,654 When you try to search for something you can move other 278 00:23:13,792 --> 00:23:18,923 then your lips and your eyelid you just surrender. 279 00:23:19,064 --> 00:23:23,763 I just remember surrendering. 280 00:23:23,902 --> 00:23:28,396 And I just kind of went to sleep. 281 00:23:28,540 --> 00:23:33,773 I didn't know what else to do. 282 00:23:34,146 --> 00:23:36,614 We were probing close to the snowmobile 283 00:23:36,748 --> 00:23:39,717 and started working up the hill, 284 00:23:39,851 --> 00:23:44,811 and probably within 10 probes I hit something that felt... 285 00:23:44,956 --> 00:23:47,789 it had some elasticity, it wasn't, it didn't feel solid. 286 00:23:47,926 --> 00:23:50,326 And I told Mark I think I have him. 287 00:23:51,797 --> 00:23:55,426 Brian was seconds from dying of asphyxiation 288 00:23:55,567 --> 00:23:57,467 not just from the lack of air 289 00:23:57,602 --> 00:24:00,799 but from the extreme pressure on his chest 290 00:24:01,006 --> 00:24:05,534 Barely a few feet down, he might as well have been cast in concrete. 291 00:24:05,677 --> 00:24:07,611 They reached him just in time 292 00:24:07,746 --> 00:24:11,113 and learned a lesson they are eager to share. 293 00:24:11,383 --> 00:24:13,544 In retrospect there were some signs. 294 00:24:13,685 --> 00:24:18,281 And had we been as educated then as we are now 295 00:24:18,423 --> 00:24:21,290 about avalanches we probably would have recognized them... 296 00:24:21,426 --> 00:24:23,451 But the basic bottom line I think 297 00:24:23,595 --> 00:24:26,189 is just common sense and the awareness. 298 00:24:26,331 --> 00:24:30,233 Being snow smart out there carrying shovels and probes 299 00:24:30,368 --> 00:24:32,359 and beepers is a big factor. 300 00:24:32,504 --> 00:24:36,201 I would like to see the people that are gonna go in the back 301 00:24:36,341 --> 00:24:40,835 country get some basic survival gear and some basic survival knowledge 302 00:24:40,979 --> 00:24:44,938 and just try and be prepared for some of the events that can happen. 303 00:24:45,317 --> 00:24:48,514 Such events have been happening for thousands of years 304 00:24:48,653 --> 00:24:50,883 and no one has experienced a longer 305 00:24:51,022 --> 00:24:53,547 or more grievous struggle with the avalanche 306 00:24:53,692 --> 00:24:56,593 than the stalwart people of the Alps. 307 00:24:59,231 --> 00:25:03,065 In the Great Saint Bernard Pass sits a hospice founded 308 00:25:03,201 --> 00:25:07,763 in the 11th century to aid and protect weary travelers. 309 00:25:08,540 --> 00:25:10,804 Today the hospice still welcomes those 310 00:25:10,942 --> 00:25:15,936 who come to visit the ancestral home of the legendary Saint Bernard. 311 00:25:20,919 --> 00:25:24,047 In earlier times, both the monks and their dogs 312 00:25:24,189 --> 00:25:27,488 quickly responded to travelers in distress. 313 00:25:28,393 --> 00:25:31,829 With their keen sense of smell and massive strength, 314 00:25:31,963 --> 00:25:34,431 nothing could stop the noble Saint Bernard 315 00:25:34,566 --> 00:25:37,296 from locating avalanche victims. 316 00:25:43,408 --> 00:25:44,739 During the several centuries 317 00:25:44,876 --> 00:25:47,401 that the Saint Bernards served at the hospice 318 00:25:47,546 --> 00:25:50,709 more than 2000 lives were saved. 319 00:25:54,252 --> 00:25:56,049 But the legendary brandy keg 320 00:25:56,187 --> 00:25:59,623 never actually hung around the Saint Bernard's neck. 321 00:25:59,925 --> 00:26:03,417 The tradition originated with 19th century English painters 322 00:26:03,562 --> 00:26:06,190 beginning with Sir Edwin Landseer. 323 00:26:07,432 --> 00:26:11,732 The last thing a hypothermia victim needs is brandy. 324 00:26:14,205 --> 00:26:15,536 In World War I, 325 00:26:15,674 --> 00:26:18,006 the Alps saw a more sinister response 326 00:26:18,143 --> 00:26:20,270 to the danger of the avalanche. 327 00:26:20,412 --> 00:26:23,074 When Austrian and Italian armies met here, 328 00:26:23,214 --> 00:26:27,981 each side deliberately triggered deadly snow slides upon the other. 329 00:26:28,119 --> 00:26:34,251 An estimated 40,000 men were lost in this lethal use of nature. 330 00:26:35,627 --> 00:26:38,892 Avalanches are intentionally triggered today... 331 00:26:43,735 --> 00:26:46,135 but for an entirely different reason. 332 00:26:46,271 --> 00:26:48,171 Fire in the hole! 333 00:26:50,075 --> 00:26:54,409 Artillery and explosives are used in preemptive strikes, 334 00:26:54,546 --> 00:26:56,605 releasing potential avalanches, 335 00:26:56,748 --> 00:27:00,844 preparing the mountains for another kind of invasion 336 00:27:04,589 --> 00:27:07,217 Each morning before skiers hit the slopes 337 00:27:07,359 --> 00:27:11,386 the ski patrol hits them first, to make them safe. 338 00:27:11,863 --> 00:27:16,129 But for some a tamed mountain is not a sufficient challenge. 339 00:27:17,569 --> 00:27:22,802 Extreme skiers seek remote places where the powder is fresh and alive. 340 00:27:22,941 --> 00:27:25,341 In 1996, three of them were shooting 341 00:27:25,477 --> 00:27:29,345 an adventure film that almost ended in disaster. 342 00:27:50,068 --> 00:27:53,401 Miraculously, they all survived. 343 00:27:53,972 --> 00:27:57,271 Others filming the glory of unbounded snow sports 344 00:27:57,409 --> 00:28:01,209 have pushed the margin of safety a little too far... 345 00:28:15,393 --> 00:28:18,362 These experts escaped with their lives 346 00:28:18,830 --> 00:28:20,627 but near ski resorts, 347 00:28:20,765 --> 00:28:23,791 those caught in unsafe areas can find themselves 348 00:28:23,935 --> 00:28:26,233 in trouble with the law. 349 00:28:26,371 --> 00:28:28,669 Here in Loveland Colorado, 350 00:28:28,807 --> 00:28:30,741 instead of going to jail 351 00:28:30,875 --> 00:28:35,073 this avalanche offender chose to be buried alive. 352 00:28:41,786 --> 00:28:45,017 I'm kinda scared right now actually to tell you the truth. 353 00:28:49,761 --> 00:28:52,628 Buried beneath the snow for up to half an hour, 354 00:28:52,764 --> 00:28:56,996 he'll have plenty of time to identify with avalanche victims 355 00:28:58,737 --> 00:29:02,070 And retrieving him is great training for the dogs. 356 00:29:02,207 --> 00:29:04,573 Angel search. That's good. 357 00:29:05,944 --> 00:29:10,074 Easily the furriest and friendliest part of any rescue effort, 358 00:29:10,215 --> 00:29:14,276 rescue dogs often arrive too late to save lives 359 00:29:14,419 --> 00:29:18,116 and end up being used to recover bodies 360 00:29:22,427 --> 00:29:27,694 Humans on the scene are usually the only ones who can help in time. 361 00:29:29,100 --> 00:29:32,866 Therefore avalanche safety schools across the country teach 362 00:29:33,004 --> 00:29:36,770 as many as possible the techniques of rapid rescue. 363 00:29:43,982 --> 00:29:46,348 Avalanche "victims" are taught various 364 00:29:46,484 --> 00:29:48,384 means of escape and survival, 365 00:29:48,520 --> 00:29:52,183 such as using swimming motions to stay on top of the slide 366 00:29:52,323 --> 00:29:57,226 and creating a breathing space with their hands before the snow hardens. 367 00:29:59,264 --> 00:30:03,257 Radio beacons are a modern aid to fast rescue. 368 00:30:03,401 --> 00:30:08,304 A transmitter worn by a victim emits a signal that others can home in on. 369 00:30:08,439 --> 00:30:13,001 But the best defense remains avoiding the avalanche altogether. 370 00:30:16,714 --> 00:30:18,648 The danger is well known. 371 00:30:18,783 --> 00:30:24,449 Warnings abound but sometimes they are discounted or ignored. 372 00:30:27,625 --> 00:30:30,526 On January 23, 1998, 373 00:30:30,662 --> 00:30:33,995 a French Alpine guide broke all the rules 374 00:30:34,132 --> 00:30:37,192 as he led a group of teenage hikers and their teachers 375 00:30:37,335 --> 00:30:41,294 off of marked trails near Les Orres in the Alps. 376 00:30:41,673 --> 00:30:44,267 None of them were wearing beacons. 377 00:31:04,596 --> 00:31:06,063 Some of the children slammed 378 00:31:06,197 --> 00:31:09,758 into a grove of larch trees they had just walked through. 379 00:31:09,901 --> 00:31:14,133 Their bodies caught in branches and wrapped around trunks. 380 00:31:16,241 --> 00:31:18,937 More than 150 rescuers combed the scene 381 00:31:19,077 --> 00:31:22,205 in a heart breaking search for survivors. 382 00:31:26,117 --> 00:31:29,177 Yet it could have so easily been avoided. 383 00:31:29,487 --> 00:31:31,421 The group had discussed avalanches 384 00:31:31,556 --> 00:31:35,390 and had even watched a video illustrating the risks. 385 00:31:35,526 --> 00:31:37,619 But when some of the children questioned the wisdom 386 00:31:37,762 --> 00:31:41,630 of hiking that day, they were ignored. 387 00:31:54,846 --> 00:31:57,940 The accident gripped the heart of the nation. 388 00:31:58,082 --> 00:32:01,540 Eleven died, nine of them school children. 389 00:32:01,686 --> 00:32:07,181 It was the worst avalanche disaster to hit France in almost 30 years. 390 00:32:10,962 --> 00:32:15,058 89 years ago in the Cascade Mountains of Washington, 391 00:32:15,199 --> 00:32:20,296 disaster struck travelers who had never expected to even touch snow. 392 00:32:21,839 --> 00:32:25,570 Number 25, a Great Northern Railroad passenger train 393 00:32:25,710 --> 00:32:27,735 is followed by Number 27, 394 00:32:27,879 --> 00:32:30,871 Great Northern's fast mail train. 395 00:32:36,220 --> 00:32:38,518 Heavy winter storms trigger avalanches 396 00:32:38,656 --> 00:32:42,558 causing both to stop just before the Cascade Tunnel. 397 00:32:43,127 --> 00:32:44,355 On the following day 398 00:32:44,495 --> 00:32:46,292 the tracks are finally cleared 399 00:32:46,431 --> 00:32:49,662 and both trains slowly steam through. 400 00:32:50,668 --> 00:32:52,659 The trains are diverted to a side track 401 00:32:52,804 --> 00:32:55,671 outside the railroad town of Wellington. 402 00:32:55,807 --> 00:32:58,776 There they remain helpless. 403 00:32:59,277 --> 00:33:01,404 Crews work to clear the tracks 404 00:33:01,546 --> 00:33:05,175 but for each foot they clear another falls 405 00:33:05,316 --> 00:33:09,184 and the peaks above are a looming white wall. 406 00:33:14,025 --> 00:33:16,391 Without warning an avalanche crashes down 407 00:33:16,527 --> 00:33:18,859 from the mountains destroying the cook shack 408 00:33:18,997 --> 00:33:22,125 where passengers had eaten the night before. 409 00:33:24,235 --> 00:33:28,695 The tracks ahead and the tracks behind are now completely blocked. 410 00:33:28,840 --> 00:33:31,001 There is nowhere to go. 411 00:33:32,510 --> 00:33:35,411 Five days pass. 412 00:33:35,546 --> 00:33:39,073 Some passengers slog to Wellington for food and comfort, 413 00:33:39,217 --> 00:33:41,742 returning to the train to sleep. 414 00:33:43,621 --> 00:33:47,352 A few risk the perilous trek to the next town. 415 00:33:47,492 --> 00:33:50,290 Everyone else remains. 416 00:33:51,796 --> 00:33:54,594 Then on March 1 st around 1:30 am 417 00:33:54,732 --> 00:33:57,997 the white death falls hard from the mountain. 418 00:33:58,870 --> 00:34:01,031 A slab a half mile long, 419 00:34:01,172 --> 00:34:05,006 and twenty feet deep surges over the tracks 420 00:34:11,816 --> 00:34:16,753 Rescue workers follow trails of blood in the snow to unearth bodies 421 00:34:17,088 --> 00:34:21,457 Mothers, daughters, salesmen, sons, lawyers, ranchers, 422 00:34:21,592 --> 00:34:27,087 shepherds and miners crushed beyond recognition in the frozen deluge. 423 00:34:27,665 --> 00:34:32,864 The final toll is 96 dead, with 22 survivors 424 00:34:33,004 --> 00:34:37,771 This remains America's worst avalanche disaster. 425 00:34:42,046 --> 00:34:45,072 In Europe, the threat of such tragedies has hovered over 426 00:34:45,216 --> 00:34:47,980 Alpine residents for centuries. 427 00:34:48,352 --> 00:34:50,752 Some homeowners fearing what their ancestors 428 00:34:50,888 --> 00:34:52,981 called the "avalanche beast" 429 00:34:53,124 --> 00:34:56,184 have built barrier walls for protection. 430 00:34:57,361 --> 00:35:00,853 A 17 th century church meets the avalanche head on, 431 00:35:00,998 --> 00:35:04,263 like a ship plowing through a sea of snow. 432 00:35:05,770 --> 00:35:08,967 One of the best protections is the natural one. 433 00:35:09,107 --> 00:35:13,100 Dense forests of trees can prevent some avalanches 434 00:35:13,244 --> 00:35:15,735 and slow others down. 435 00:35:21,752 --> 00:35:24,448 Yet years of mindless deforestation 436 00:35:24,589 --> 00:35:27,456 have left some towns hanging precariously 437 00:35:27,592 --> 00:35:29,856 on the edge of disaster. 438 00:35:33,798 --> 00:35:37,529 Today as the slow process of reforestation continues, 439 00:35:37,668 --> 00:35:41,604 steel and concrete barriers do the work of trees. 440 00:35:41,739 --> 00:35:45,903 Although unsightly and expensive, they offer some protection. 441 00:35:46,043 --> 00:35:49,410 While the search for better methods continues. 442 00:35:52,750 --> 00:35:56,049 With their dense population and mountainous landscape, 443 00:35:56,187 --> 00:36:01,318 the islands of Japan are a prime target for avalanche tragedy. 444 00:36:01,459 --> 00:36:06,260 A devastating slide hit near Niigata, in 1986. 445 00:36:10,668 --> 00:36:15,503 It was one of the worst avalanches to hit Japan since World War I I. 446 00:36:19,377 --> 00:36:22,175 This disastrous slide would provid crucial data 447 00:36:22,313 --> 00:36:24,508 for scientists in Japan. 448 00:36:24,649 --> 00:36:26,583 Prompting Dr. Ouichi Nishimura 449 00:36:26,717 --> 00:36:29,277 of the Institute of Low Temperature Science 450 00:36:29,420 --> 00:36:34,289 at Hokkaido University to begin his research on avalanches. 451 00:36:34,659 --> 00:36:39,096 A computer model shows just how the tragic slide progressed. 452 00:36:42,533 --> 00:36:46,799 Here in Sapporo at the sight of the 1972 Olympics, 453 00:36:46,938 --> 00:36:50,101 he recreates an avalanche on a small scale 454 00:36:50,241 --> 00:36:54,541 to increase his understanding of the internal flow of snow. 455 00:37:03,354 --> 00:37:05,481 Tracking individual particles of snow 456 00:37:05,623 --> 00:37:09,252 as they behave in an avalanche is all but impossible. 457 00:37:09,393 --> 00:37:15,525 Nishimura's inspired substitute over 300,000 ping pong balls! 458 00:37:25,243 --> 00:37:27,973 The behavior of the balls will be fed into a computer 459 00:37:28,112 --> 00:37:30,080 to learn more about how hard, 460 00:37:30,214 --> 00:37:34,116 how far and how fast an avalanche will run. 461 00:37:34,252 --> 00:37:36,618 Dr. Nishimura hopes to better predict 462 00:37:36,754 --> 00:37:39,621 how and where it is safe to build. 463 00:37:40,958 --> 00:37:45,292 In Juneau, Alaska, that lesson has still to be learned. 464 00:37:46,197 --> 00:37:49,792 As the city has expanded into several avalanche paths, 465 00:37:49,934 --> 00:37:53,028 Juneau is a disaster waiting to happen 466 00:37:53,304 --> 00:37:57,536 Just past 5 am on March 22, 1962 467 00:37:57,675 --> 00:38:00,838 above Behrends Ave in the Highland district... 468 00:38:00,978 --> 00:38:04,038 a fast moving avalanche raced down Mt. Juneau 469 00:38:04,181 --> 00:38:07,150 and smashed into the neighborhood below. 470 00:38:09,887 --> 00:38:12,287 Miraculously no one was hurt. 471 00:38:12,423 --> 00:38:15,290 But there was an immediate public outcry. 472 00:38:15,593 --> 00:38:18,687 Yet none of this should have come as a surprise. 473 00:38:18,829 --> 00:38:21,059 Avalanches had fallen in the past 474 00:38:21,198 --> 00:38:25,157 and Behrends Ave lies directly in their path. 475 00:38:25,303 --> 00:38:26,770 Studies were commissioned. 476 00:38:26,904 --> 00:38:30,169 Plans were made, but nothing happened. 477 00:38:30,308 --> 00:38:32,936 Mayor Dennis Egan remembers... 478 00:38:33,077 --> 00:38:35,637 The city and borough of Juneau has spent 479 00:38:35,780 --> 00:38:39,272 hundreds of thousands of dollars doing avalanche research, 480 00:38:39,417 --> 00:38:40,509 doing studies. 481 00:38:40,651 --> 00:38:45,782 In fact what we did was list high hazard areas right on the maps 482 00:38:45,923 --> 00:38:48,118 so when folks see those 483 00:38:48,259 --> 00:38:51,558 and go out to purchase a home from someone else 484 00:38:51,696 --> 00:38:53,288 and come into our Planning Department, 485 00:38:53,431 --> 00:38:56,696 they'll know that they'll be buying a piece of property 486 00:38:56,834 --> 00:38:58,734 that's in a high hazard area. 487 00:38:58,869 --> 00:39:01,667 Now we tried to put language 488 00:39:01,806 --> 00:39:04,138 in the deeds that when the property was sold 489 00:39:04,275 --> 00:39:07,039 and was refinanced through lending institutions 490 00:39:07,178 --> 00:39:10,204 that they were in a high hazard area. 491 00:39:10,348 --> 00:39:12,475 But the property owners were violently 492 00:39:12,616 --> 00:39:14,948 opposed to it as well as the financial institutions 493 00:39:15,086 --> 00:39:17,054 and it didn't pass. 494 00:39:17,188 --> 00:39:21,750 In fact, we had talked about a program to buy the properties back 495 00:39:21,892 --> 00:39:25,259 and the folks were violently opposed to that as well. 496 00:39:25,396 --> 00:39:27,227 It's the place they want to stay, 497 00:39:27,365 --> 00:39:29,060 it's the place they want to retire 498 00:39:29,200 --> 00:39:32,499 and they don't want anybody telling them what to do. 499 00:39:32,636 --> 00:39:34,831 They know they're in a hazardous zone 500 00:39:34,972 --> 00:39:38,100 but they've come to accept it. 501 00:39:38,242 --> 00:39:42,702 This summer I started in July and I've now built this deck 502 00:39:42,913 --> 00:39:46,576 and I'm working on this building 503 00:39:46,717 --> 00:39:49,345 which... I'm building as I think of it. 504 00:39:49,487 --> 00:39:52,752 I'm not I don't have an exact plan but it, 505 00:39:52,890 --> 00:39:55,882 I know what I want. I want a hot tub right here. 506 00:39:56,026 --> 00:39:59,291 I want to be able to see that avalanche come and get me. 507 00:39:59,430 --> 00:40:02,263 And I guess it's sort of a ing Lear thing, 508 00:40:02,400 --> 00:40:04,698 uh blow ye winds and rage ye hurricaneos. 509 00:40:04,835 --> 00:40:08,862 I like the weather. I love the weather. It's everywhere. 510 00:40:09,006 --> 00:40:11,907 Apparently the risk of dying in an avalanche 511 00:40:12,042 --> 00:40:14,840 is less than that from choking on meat 512 00:40:14,979 --> 00:40:17,812 and I'm not a vegetarian so you know, 513 00:40:17,948 --> 00:40:20,542 it's just... whatever you do, wherever you live, 514 00:40:20,684 --> 00:40:23,676 I mean, people live in flood plains, people live in mud zones, 515 00:40:23,821 --> 00:40:26,688 people live in hurr... I went to school is Sarasota Florida 516 00:40:26,824 --> 00:40:30,851 where we waited for hurricanes on a regular basis. 517 00:40:31,595 --> 00:40:36,862 You know, there's no place on earth, I don't think, 518 00:40:37,001 --> 00:40:39,162 that is completely hazard free. 519 00:40:39,303 --> 00:40:40,861 My friends they make jokes about it. 520 00:40:41,005 --> 00:40:42,632 They call this Fort Liston. 521 00:40:42,773 --> 00:40:45,264 And I get a charge out of it, I think it's pretty funny. 522 00:40:45,409 --> 00:40:46,899 And they say, well we know 523 00:40:47,044 --> 00:40:49,035 you're going to be seeing the avalanches coming down 524 00:40:49,180 --> 00:40:51,148 and I say... Bring it on! 525 00:40:53,284 --> 00:40:59,450 In 1972, a powder blast rocketed straight into the center of Juneau. 526 00:41:02,126 --> 00:41:07,086 Luckily by the time it hit town, it's energy had already dissipated. 527 00:41:07,231 --> 00:41:11,930 Many residents thought it was simply a fast and furious local blizzard. 528 00:41:12,069 --> 00:41:16,028 A look up should have been enough for all to see the truth. 529 00:41:16,340 --> 00:41:19,503 Experts say that it's not a question of "if" 530 00:41:19,643 --> 00:41:22,806 but "when" the next disaster will happen. 531 00:41:23,914 --> 00:41:26,849 While some choose to live in danger zones 532 00:41:26,984 --> 00:41:29,612 others must earn a living there. 533 00:41:29,887 --> 00:41:32,287 One of the most incredible survival stories 534 00:41:32,423 --> 00:41:34,914 took place at the Bessie G mine 535 00:41:35,059 --> 00:41:38,187 high in the La Plata mountains of Colorado. 536 00:41:38,896 --> 00:41:43,629 In November 1986, Lester Morlang was working frantically 537 00:41:43,767 --> 00:41:46,702 to build a snow shed with his partner, mentor 538 00:41:46,837 --> 00:41:49,533 and best friend Jack Ritter. 539 00:41:50,574 --> 00:41:52,201 We knew this storm was coming 540 00:41:52,343 --> 00:41:57,212 and we had to get this timber in place before the storm came. 541 00:41:57,348 --> 00:42:01,614 That was the whole purpose was to keep that old east portal open 542 00:42:01,752 --> 00:42:03,913 for our ventilation inside. 543 00:42:04,054 --> 00:42:05,453 Because of winter weather, 544 00:42:05,589 --> 00:42:08,888 the Bessie G had only been worked three months a year. 545 00:42:09,026 --> 00:42:13,258 But Jack Ritter, who knew more about gold mining than just about anyone, 546 00:42:13,397 --> 00:42:16,696 had figured out how to operate her year round. 547 00:42:16,834 --> 00:42:20,634 Yet this was the worst weather Jack had seen in over a decade. 548 00:42:20,771 --> 00:42:23,001 Two feet of snow had already fallen 549 00:42:23,140 --> 00:42:26,439 and both men were in a race with the storm. 550 00:42:26,577 --> 00:42:28,772 Lester was in the bucket of the skip loader 551 00:42:28,913 --> 00:42:30,881 and Jack was handing him timbers 552 00:42:31,015 --> 00:42:33,848 when everything suddenly turned white. 553 00:42:37,121 --> 00:42:41,751 When it initially hit when I come out of the bucket. 554 00:42:41,892 --> 00:42:47,057 I'm sure that was only a matter of seconds before I landed. 555 00:42:47,197 --> 00:42:49,358 And just naturally you put your hands 556 00:42:49,500 --> 00:42:51,764 in front of your face in kind of ball up 557 00:42:51,902 --> 00:42:53,995 because you don't know what's happening to you. 558 00:42:54,138 --> 00:42:55,628 But for the first few seconds, 559 00:42:55,773 --> 00:42:58,037 my whole life's flashing in front of my eyes. 560 00:42:58,175 --> 00:43:02,043 And I'm seeing things I could never remember normally. 561 00:43:02,179 --> 00:43:06,673 I'm actually seeing things like my son graduating from college 562 00:43:06,817 --> 00:43:10,617 and you know I was sure I was going to die right there. 563 00:43:18,696 --> 00:43:21,859 Although the snow was packed loosely around him, 564 00:43:21,999 --> 00:43:25,491 Lester Morlang's odyssey had just begun 565 00:43:25,803 --> 00:43:27,566 When I come to of course I had my hands 566 00:43:27,705 --> 00:43:29,798 in front of my face and everything was packed. 567 00:43:29,940 --> 00:43:33,000 One of the first things I could do was get the snow away from my face 568 00:43:33,143 --> 00:43:34,440 because you go to inhale 569 00:43:34,578 --> 00:43:38,537 and you were just inhaling a mouthful of snow. 570 00:43:38,682 --> 00:43:44,382 And then of course, I was screaming for Jack, you know, I just, 571 00:43:44,521 --> 00:43:48,582 screaming and crying and everything at the same time. 572 00:43:48,726 --> 00:43:51,661 I mean it's trying to take your mind over. 573 00:43:52,696 --> 00:43:55,096 Jack was already dead. 574 00:43:55,332 --> 00:43:58,460 And now... buried only a few feet from Lester, 575 00:43:58,602 --> 00:44:00,900 the skip loader's diesel engine was 576 00:44:00,971 --> 00:44:04,202 spewing deadly exhaust into the snow. 577 00:44:05,209 --> 00:44:07,837 I could feel the vibration in the snow and I could hear it, 578 00:44:07,978 --> 00:44:10,674 definitely hear it and I knew to keep away from it 579 00:44:10,814 --> 00:44:13,044 because I knew it would have been a big pocket of gas. 580 00:44:13,183 --> 00:44:17,882 For if I'd a dug into that loader why that would have been it. 581 00:44:19,657 --> 00:44:25,220 Lester knew where not to dig. But which way was up? 582 00:44:26,030 --> 00:44:29,295 And when I had my face free I was kind of overlaying over on my side. 583 00:44:29,433 --> 00:44:30,593 I had moisture from my mouth 584 00:44:30,734 --> 00:44:32,725 and I could feel it running across the corner of my eye. 585 00:44:32,870 --> 00:44:38,831 So I knew I was laying kinda of on my side, head down, 586 00:44:38,976 --> 00:44:43,879 so I knew I wanted to start the incline you know to get back up. 587 00:44:44,014 --> 00:44:45,413 What Lester couldn't know 588 00:44:45,549 --> 00:44:49,849 was that he would have to dig through almost 30 feet of snow 589 00:44:49,987 --> 00:44:52,785 fighting cold, claustrophobia 590 00:44:52,923 --> 00:44:56,120 and a fear so intense, it sickened him. 591 00:44:56,260 --> 00:45:00,526 Several times I would go into convulsions and I did throw up. 592 00:45:00,664 --> 00:45:02,495 It seemed like every half hour, 593 00:45:02,633 --> 00:45:06,034 why you'd have the dry heaves and some convulsions 594 00:45:06,170 --> 00:45:08,297 kind of like attacking you. 595 00:45:11,842 --> 00:45:13,605 I wasn't thirsty at first 596 00:45:13,744 --> 00:45:16,679 I knew not to try and eat the snow 597 00:45:16,814 --> 00:45:18,577 but my mouth was drying out 598 00:45:18,716 --> 00:45:21,981 and everything and I'd take a little bit of snow in my mouth, 599 00:45:22,119 --> 00:45:25,577 just to wet my lips, and spit it back out. 600 00:45:27,558 --> 00:45:28,889 Every second. Every hour. 601 00:45:29,026 --> 00:45:30,857 Every minute there's something there wanting you 602 00:45:30,994 --> 00:45:34,794 to lose control of your senses. 603 00:45:34,932 --> 00:45:36,729 And you know I'm thinking about my family 604 00:45:36,867 --> 00:45:40,769 and the position I'd be leaving them in 605 00:45:40,904 --> 00:45:42,565 and a couple of times I almost thought 606 00:45:42,706 --> 00:45:45,698 my wife was right there with me because I could smell her perfume, 607 00:45:45,843 --> 00:45:48,835 it was just as distinct as... I know it was there. 608 00:45:48,979 --> 00:45:51,174 I could smell her and it and that was good 609 00:45:51,315 --> 00:45:53,283 because that kind of gave me some strength 610 00:45:53,417 --> 00:45:56,113 to know that I was, somebody was thinking about me. 611 00:45:56,453 --> 00:45:59,115 Many people were thinking about him. 612 00:45:59,256 --> 00:46:02,817 Word of the missing miners reached Sheriff Bill Gardner. 613 00:46:02,960 --> 00:46:06,521 As soon as I heard I knew that this was the real thing. 614 00:46:06,663 --> 00:46:08,528 I can't describe the feeling. 615 00:46:08,665 --> 00:46:11,395 It... My heart sunk. 616 00:46:11,535 --> 00:46:14,971 My stomach turned and literally chills went up my spine 617 00:46:15,105 --> 00:46:18,199 because I knew what we were up against 618 00:46:18,342 --> 00:46:21,334 This was a significant winter storm. 619 00:46:21,478 --> 00:46:24,072 We had snow of at least two inches an hour. 620 00:46:24,214 --> 00:46:27,980 We knew that we had winds of in excess of 50 miles an hour. 621 00:46:28,118 --> 00:46:31,212 And we knew that the site was totally isolated. 622 00:46:31,355 --> 00:46:34,449 That the only way to the site was either by air, 623 00:46:34,591 --> 00:46:38,823 or through a canyon that was literally avalanche alley. 624 00:46:41,398 --> 00:46:46,335 Avalanche safety expert Chris George was brought in to bomb the area, 625 00:46:46,470 --> 00:46:51,533 clearing it of potential avalanches, making it safe for the rescue team. 626 00:46:51,675 --> 00:46:56,112 The road into the Bessie G up the La Plata canyon was already 627 00:46:56,246 --> 00:46:59,215 a serious hazard I mean just driving that road. 628 00:46:59,349 --> 00:47:00,839 Just because one avalanche runs 629 00:47:00,984 --> 00:47:03,418 doesn't mean to say that everything else is secured. 630 00:47:03,554 --> 00:47:06,990 You know you'll have one or two people trapped somewhere. 631 00:47:07,124 --> 00:47:08,887 You send another 40 people in there. 632 00:47:09,026 --> 00:47:13,224 It's not secure. It's something we have to do. 633 00:47:15,465 --> 00:47:18,525 After almost 22 hours of digging, 634 00:47:18,669 --> 00:47:22,036 Lester finally inched closer to freedom 635 00:47:22,406 --> 00:47:25,569 I could tell I was seeing a little bit of light 636 00:47:25,709 --> 00:47:29,406 and so I was about, maybe two feet under 637 00:47:29,546 --> 00:47:32,276 and of course the adrenaline started pumping then 638 00:47:32,416 --> 00:47:34,646 and I just started digging and beating and jumping 639 00:47:34,785 --> 00:47:39,620 and I can remember just breaking out and just screaming 640 00:47:39,756 --> 00:47:41,986 Thank God, you know, I just, I made it. 641 00:47:42,125 --> 00:47:45,288 I can't believe, I made it... 642 00:47:48,665 --> 00:47:53,364 and then, to get out in a freezing storm, snowing, 643 00:47:53,503 --> 00:47:56,870 blowing, that's when I got cold. 644 00:47:57,441 --> 00:48:00,842 Bitterly disappointed with no rescue in sight, 645 00:48:00,978 --> 00:48:04,573 Lester was forced to return to his snow tunnel for warmth. 646 00:48:04,715 --> 00:48:07,513 He attempted to settle in for the night. 647 00:48:07,651 --> 00:48:09,778 I tried to go to sleep and wake up real quick 648 00:48:09,920 --> 00:48:12,616 and think I was in bed and had a bad dream. 649 00:48:12,756 --> 00:48:15,384 But a very sad thing when I did wake up, 650 00:48:15,525 --> 00:48:18,016 I was still in the cave. 651 00:48:18,462 --> 00:48:24,264 Then another avalanche hit, burying Lester for a second time. 652 00:48:24,401 --> 00:48:26,926 To hear that crack and that sliding sound 653 00:48:27,070 --> 00:48:31,507 and I just assumed it was gonna squash me like a bug 654 00:48:31,642 --> 00:48:33,633 in my little hole there. 655 00:48:33,777 --> 00:48:36,644 Luckily it just slid over the top. 656 00:48:39,283 --> 00:48:44,186 Morning came I knew I'm gonna get started as early as I can. 657 00:48:44,321 --> 00:48:47,722 I'm gonna dig my out again. 658 00:48:48,025 --> 00:48:51,222 So it was about six. I started digging my way out. 659 00:48:51,361 --> 00:48:55,923 Course I only had a couple three feet of snow to go through. 660 00:48:56,066 --> 00:48:59,502 And I got out. I just started... 661 00:48:59,636 --> 00:49:02,571 the only direction I could move was down. 662 00:49:06,076 --> 00:49:10,376 Finally in mid morning the winds abated enough. 663 00:49:10,514 --> 00:49:14,382 We sent in Chris George to do our first aerial surveillance 664 00:49:14,518 --> 00:49:16,850 of the accident site. 665 00:49:16,987 --> 00:49:21,219 And we flew by the east portal looking for tracks. 666 00:49:21,358 --> 00:49:23,690 There was no indication of where that portal was, 667 00:49:23,827 --> 00:49:28,059 it was just one smooth angle of snow. 668 00:49:28,198 --> 00:49:32,862 I had absolutely no idea that Lester had gotten out 669 00:49:33,003 --> 00:49:37,303 and was at the foot of the mountain which is quite 670 00:49:37,441 --> 00:49:42,071 a desperate descent under any circumstances. 671 00:49:43,513 --> 00:49:46,414 I'll never forget that helicopter flying 672 00:49:46,550 --> 00:49:49,383 approximately the same elevation that I was, but they were looking, 673 00:49:49,519 --> 00:49:51,453 I could look in and see them 674 00:49:51,588 --> 00:49:54,148 and they were looking up at the avalanche, 675 00:49:54,291 --> 00:49:58,694 of course, they didn't expect me, where I was and then, 676 00:49:58,829 --> 00:50:02,993 yeah it made me mad, I was, I was mad. 677 00:50:03,133 --> 00:50:04,623 They just flew past me. 678 00:50:04,768 --> 00:50:09,364 I could almost I thought I felt prop wash they were so close. 679 00:50:11,708 --> 00:50:13,471 This must have been a half hour later. 680 00:50:13,610 --> 00:50:16,238 I heard the thunder or what I thought was thunder 681 00:50:16,380 --> 00:50:18,974 and then I realized they were dropping bombs 682 00:50:19,116 --> 00:50:23,450 on the slope to secure the slope for the rescuers. 683 00:50:24,521 --> 00:50:27,183 So I knew I had to get out of there. 684 00:50:27,324 --> 00:50:30,521 I finally got up and got behind a tree 685 00:50:30,660 --> 00:50:34,187 and it wasn't 15 minutes, I could hear the roar. 686 00:50:34,331 --> 00:50:37,698 It was louder than any thunder you've ever heard. 687 00:50:58,121 --> 00:50:59,918 If the first two didn't get him, 688 00:51:00,057 --> 00:51:02,992 the third avalanche certainly wouldn't 689 00:51:03,126 --> 00:51:05,390 Lester was almost to Junction Creek 690 00:51:05,529 --> 00:51:09,021 when he heard the sound of the helicopter overhead. 691 00:51:09,166 --> 00:51:11,726 This time they saw him. 692 00:51:11,868 --> 00:51:14,928 He was flown 10 minutes away to Mercy Medical Center 693 00:51:15,072 --> 00:51:18,200 where he was treated for severe frostbite. 694 00:51:18,341 --> 00:51:22,300 They wanted to cut off several fingers but Lester held on. 695 00:51:22,446 --> 00:51:25,142 With physical therapy and personal strength, 696 00:51:25,282 --> 00:51:27,182 his fingers remain. 697 00:51:27,751 --> 00:51:34,054 I can't express the mixture of joy and wonder 698 00:51:34,191 --> 00:51:36,318 that someone survived this. 699 00:51:36,460 --> 00:51:39,486 I mean veteran mountaineers and search and rescue people 700 00:51:39,629 --> 00:51:41,392 were looking at each other. 701 00:51:41,531 --> 00:51:43,624 People were hugging each other. 702 00:51:43,767 --> 00:51:46,793 And we were going we can't believe this is true. 703 00:51:46,937 --> 00:51:50,998 I have read hundreds of reports of avalanches. 704 00:51:51,141 --> 00:51:55,908 I've been teaching snow safety for 35 years. 705 00:51:56,046 --> 00:52:00,346 I've been in mountains, you know for 40 odd years. 706 00:52:00,817 --> 00:52:05,584 To me it's one of the greatest survival stories I've ever heard of. 707 00:52:06,923 --> 00:52:09,983 It's good for me because it gave me a new outlook and I, 708 00:52:10,127 --> 00:52:11,788 I'm a lot tougher than I was 709 00:52:11,928 --> 00:52:15,420 and I appreciate things a lot more than I did. 710 00:52:15,565 --> 00:52:21,231 Like a nice warm house and a loving family. 711 00:52:21,705 --> 00:52:24,799 I'm rich, I didn't need to extract all the gold out 712 00:52:24,941 --> 00:52:25,737 of this mine to get rich. 713 00:52:25,876 --> 00:52:30,074 I know now what rich is and I'm rich. 714 00:52:34,184 --> 00:52:37,711 Experience teaches when we pay attention. 715 00:52:37,854 --> 00:52:41,017 Wisdom arrives after we learn. 716 00:52:41,992 --> 00:52:44,222 Winter will always come. 717 00:52:44,361 --> 00:52:46,727 Snow will always fall. 718 00:52:46,863 --> 00:52:50,230 All things obey the law of gravity. 719 00:52:50,834 --> 00:52:51,823 In the mountains, 720 00:52:51,968 --> 00:52:56,428 ignorance and arrogance can place us in harm's way. 721 00:52:57,040 --> 00:52:59,008 We have a choice. 722 00:52:59,142 --> 00:53:01,235 But if we remain unaware 723 00:53:01,378 --> 00:53:04,211 and the mountains continue to lure us, 724 00:53:04,347 --> 00:53:09,114 the white death will strike again... and again.