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Show at once. ( Frequently two or three sections will release one after another, which reduces the volume of snow at a given point at a given time.) This produced an estimated 121,500 tons of snow which ran at over 100 m. p. h. The snow not only filled the creek, but buried the highway for 500 feet under 10- 12 feet of snow. When the snow cloud settled, nothing was to be seen of the two men on the road, or their truck and station wagon. Wy. heard H. yell, and Wy. ran for the timber in the snow. Before he reached the trees, " the avalanche hit me like a shock wave, lifting me 10 feet in the air. I could see trees falling around me, then everything went black- or white- it's hard to remember. I was buried, but I managed to claw free of the two feet of snow that covered me." Around 1800 hours, the highway truck was located, windows and cab smashed, and filled with snow. It had been moved 60 feet. About 10 feet away from the truck Wk's. body was located, lying face down. He was under six feet of snow. Later, Mr. H's station wagon was found, crumpled, and with snow packed so solidly inside that it could not be removed except with a board or shovel. At 1045 hours, H.' s body was found in a running position, with his head 16 feet below the surface. Witnesses stated that the highway employee, Wk., was running from the avalanche, but suddenly fell to the highway just before he was covered. Two cameras were located during the initial search; the other one was found as the snow melted. These films are undoubtedly some of the most spectacular avalanche scenes ever filmed. Trees 60- 80 feet tall are flicked into the air like matchsticks. The snow cloud raises several hundred feet into the air and rushes toward the camera at an unbelievable speed, finally enveloping the scene completely. State highway crews stated they had warned H. that the siide might come over the highway, but he remained in the middle of the path until it was too late. AVALANCHE DATA This was a prime example of a climax avalanche. The fracture line was estimated at 8- 12 feet, and was a hard slab. ( HS- AA- 5.) Deposition usually ends in the transition zone or in the creek, but all three of the accumulation zones releasing at the same time, coupled with the heavy build- up, gave more volume at once than usual. The slope of the main avalanche path averages 59%. COMMENTS This avalanche has run to the highway level frequently enough to keep an obvious path cleared above and below the road. Since all cameras had remote control capabilities, there seems to be no reason for either man to be in the avalanche path, even though it had not run that extensively for 24 years. The photographer's desire was to obtain as spectacular films as possible. His goal was accomplished. 34 |