AVALANCHE. THANKS FOR JOINING US AT NOON. I'M LISA GONZALEZ.Z. THAT AVALANCHE REPORTED ABOUT 930 YESTERDAY MORNING, SWEPT UP FOUR PEOPLE, KILLING ONE MAN AND INJURING ANOTHER. WE HAVE TEAM COVERAGE ON THE AVALANCHE FOR YOU FROM THE AIR WITH KCRA 3'S, BRIAN HICKEY AND LIVECOPTER3 AND MELANIE WINGO ON THE GROUND AT PALISADES TAHOE. LET'S BEGIN WITH KCRA 3'S. BRIAN HICKEY, WHO? BRIAN, WE KNOW YOU ARE AN EXPERIENCED SKIER, VERY FAMILIAR WITH PALISADES TAHOE AND THIS PARTICULAR RUN WHERE THIS HAPPENED. RIGHT, BRIAN? YEAH. AND CT 22, ONE OF OUR FAVORITE RUNS IN ALL OF THE SIERRA. IT'S A LEGENDARY SKI LIFT HERE AT PALISADES TAHOE AND IN THE OLYMPIC VALLEY. WE'LL TAKE YOU OUTSIDE RIGHT NOW TO LIVECOPTER3 FOR OUR FIRST LOOK HERE AT THE TERRAIN WHERE THIS SLIDE WAS TRIGGERED. SO RIGHT NOW YOU ARE LOOKING AT THE TOP OF CT 22 CHAIRLIFT JUST TO THE LEFT OF THAT IS A CLIFF KNOWN AS MCCONKEY'S. AND THEN. RIGHT TO THE RIGHT YOU CAN SEE THE BASE TO BASE GONDOLA AND A SKI PATROL SHACK. JUST TO THE RIGHT OF THE LIFT. NOW LOOK RIGHT BELOW THE LIFT. YOU'LL SEE A PROMINENT LINE ACROSS THE SLOPE THAT IS WHAT IS CALLED A CROWN. THAT'S WHERE AN AVALANCHE FRACTURES OFF A SLAB AND THEN BEGINS TO SLIDE. AT THIS POINT, I CAN'T SAY FOR CERTAIN THAT THAT IS THE CROWN FROM YESTERDAY S SLIDE. THAT COULD HAVE BEEN ACTCTIVITY FROM TODAY, BUT IT DOES LOOK LIKE AN OLDER CROWN TO ME. AND THIS IS THE EXACT LOCATION WHERE THAT SLIDE WAS REPORTED IN THE AREA. KNOWN AS GS BOWL. NOW WE WILL FOLLOW THAT SLIDE DOWN AND WE'LL CONTINUE DOWN THROUGH. THIS IS THE GOALIE THAT THAT SNOW TOOK. YOU CAN SEE SOME OF THE DEBRIS OFF TO THE LEFT SIDE OF YOUR SCREEN. AND DOWN THE CENTER AS IT FLOWED OVER THE WHAT'S CALLED THE GS CLIFFS. AND THEN DOWN INTO THE TERRAIN BELOW WILL CONTINUE DOWN A LITTLE BIT FURTHER, AND YOU CAN SEE HOW THAT SNOW KIND OF FUNNELED OFF TO THE LEFT. AND THEN RIGHT IN HERE, I BELIEVE THAT THIS IS THE AREA WHERE WE SAW THOSE RESCUES HAPPENING THAT FLATTER TERRAIN WHERE THE SNOW CAME TO REST, THAT WOULD HAVE FLUSHED THOSE SKIERS DOWN INTO THIS AREA, AND SOME OF THEM WERE SWEPT INTO THE LOWLANDS THERE BY THE SNOW. AND I BELIEVE THIS IS THE AREA WHERE THOSE RESCUES. WERE HAPPENING IN THIS AREA KNOWN AS GS BOWL. NOW, DANNY, OUR PHOTOGRAPHER, WE CAN WIDEN BACK OUT. WE'VE ALSO SEEN. SOME NEW AVALANCHE ACTIVITY TODAY. AGAIN, THE REASON I CAN'T SAY THAT THAT IS YESTERDAY'S SLIDE, ALTHOUGH I'M QUITE CERTAIN IT. IS, IS BECAUSE AGAIN, WE HAD NEW SNOW LAST NIGHT. NOW LOOK AT THE RIGHT SIDE OF YOUR SCREEN. THAT TO ME IS CLEARLY AVALANCHE ACTIVITY. THAT WAS TODAY. THAT IS A FRESH SLIDE RIGHT THERE TO THE RIGHT AND LIKELY SOME OF THE AVALANANCHE CONTROL THAT WAS TAKING PLACE TODAY WITH CREWS OUT THERE TRYING TO STABILIZE THE HILLSIDE AFTER LAST NIGHT'S SNOW, NOT ONLY THE SNOW THAT FELL, BUT ALSO THE SNOW THAT WAS TRANSPORTED BY THE HIGH WINDS THAT WE SAW OVER THE SIERRA. THOSE ARE ALL CONCERNS IN AVALANCHE TERRAIN. AND OF COURSE, AS THEY WANT TO INVESTIGATE YESTERDAY'S SLIDE, THEY NEED TO MITIGATE THAT DANGER SO THAT THEY CAN PUT THE PROFESSIONALS IN THAT AREA AND GO IN AND DO THAT WORK. AND YOU CAN SEE HERE THEY'RE TRYING TO REESTABLISH THE CAT ROAD THAT WAS WIPED OUT IN THE SNOW AND IN THE AVALANCHE YESTERDAY. THAT CAT OPERATOR RIGHT NOW TRYING TO REESTABLISH THAT CAT ROAD THERE. THAT ACCESS IS COMES FROM CT 22. SO THERE'S ONE OF THE BLAST HOLES. THAT'S A SIGN OF WHERE, UH, SKI PATROL DROPPED A CHARGE AND TRIED TO TRIGGER AVALANCHES. WHETHER THAT WAS TODAY'S HOLE OR YESTERDAY'S HOLE. UNCLEAR TO SAY RIGHT NOW AT THIS POINT, BUT THIS IS THE AREA CT 22 HERE AT PALISADES TAHOE. WE'LL GO BACK TO THE LEFT A LITTLE BIT THERE. DOMMY. AND THAT IS AGAIN THE GS BOWL WHERE YESTERDAY'S FATAL AVALANCHE TOOK PLACE. BACK TO YOU, BRIAN. THAT'S SUCH A GOOD EXPLANATION AND AMAZING TO BE ABLE TO SEE THIS EXCLUSIVELY LIVE ON LIVEVECOPTER3 WAS THERE ANYTHIN, BRIAN, IN ALL OF YOUR EXPERIENCE, THAT WOULD HAVE GIVEN SKIERS A SNOWBOARDERS A HEADS UP THAT SOMETHING LIKE HEADS UP THAT SOMETHING LIKE THIS COULD POSSIBLY HAPPEN? I KNOW IT WAS CLEARED TO OPEN, YOU KNOW, NOT LONG BEFORE THE AVALANCHE HAPPENED, BUT FOR YOURSELF, WAS THERE ANYTHING THAT MAYBE YOU WOULD HAVE SEEN? NO. I, I THINK THOSE PEOPLE WHO WERE THE FIRST ONES UP ON CT 22 CHAIR WERE JUBILANT. IT WAS THEIR FIRST DAY THAT CT HAD ACTUALLY OPENED FOR THE SEASON. IT'S ALWAYS SPECIAL TO GET THERE ON THE FIRST, UH, LIFT OF ANY DAY, BUT TO HAVE THE ACTUAL FIRST DAY. EVERYONE WAS EXCITED TO GET UP THERE AND ACCESS THIS TERRAIN FOR THE FIRST TIME THIS SEASON, AND UNFORTUNATELY, UH, MOTHER NATURE HAD THE MOUNTAIN ALWAYS HAS CONTROL. WE CAN DO OUR BEST EFFORTS TO TRY TO MITIGATE THAT DANGER. UH, BUT AGAIN, YOU KNOW, ON A POWDER DAY, YOU JUST KIND OF HAVE TO BE. BE CAREFUL. THE PROFESSIONALS HERE AT PALISADES ARE AMONG THE BEST WHEN IT COMES TO AVALANCHE CONTROL. UH, THE A LARGE PART OF THIS MOUNTAIN, AND ESPECIALLY THE ALPINE MEADOWS SIDE OF THE MOUNTAIN, ARE ALL CONSIDERED AVALANCHE TERRAIN. AND THEY ARE SOME OF THE BEST AT CONTROLLING THAT HAZARD. BUT AGAIN, SOMETIMES WE GET A REMINDER THAT THE MOUNTAIN IS ULTIMATELY IN CONTROL. AND WOULD YOU CALL THIS TRULY A FREAK ACCIDENT? I WOULD THINK SO, BECAUSE THIS IS A PROMINENT AREA. IT'S SOMETHING THEY'RE GOING TO GO BACK AND INVESTIGATE. UM, THERE HAVE BEEN SOME WEAK LAYERS IN THE SNOWPACK. THERE'S A PERSISTENT LAYER, UH, WHERE SOME OF THE, UH, AVALANCHE FORECASTS HAVE BEEN EYEING THIS PERSISTENT LAYER. AND I'LL BE CURIOUS TO KNOW IF THAT'S WHERE THE SNOW FAILED ON THIS WEAK LAYER THAT EXISTS UNDER WHAT IS NOW THE NEW SNOWPACK ON TOP OF IT. SO THAT IS SOMETHING WE'LL BE LOOKING AT. BUT, UH, YOU KNOW, THEY'VE GOTTEN VERY GOOD AT FORECASTING AVALANCHES. BUT WHEN YOU HAVE HIGH WIND SCENARIOS, THERE'S A LOT OF SNOW THAT CAN BE MOVED AROUND. YEAH. AND IT'S MOVED AROUND UNEVENLY. CORRECT? CORRECT. IT ALL DEPENDS ON THE DIRECTION OF THE WIND AND THE TERRAIN. IT WILL COLLECT IT. THINK OF KIND OF LIKE A SAND DUNE. UH, SNOW GETS MOVED FROM ONE AREA TO ANOTHER, AND THAT CREATES WHAT'S CALLED A WIND SLAB. AND YOU CAN SEE THE PROMINENT SLAB WHERE IT BROKE OFF. I'M TRYING TO, UH, IT'S HARD TO SAY HOW BIG THAT CROWN IS FROM HERE, BUT IT'S AT LEAST 12 TO 18IN TALL. JUST LOOKING AT IT FROM LIVECOPTER3 HERE. AND JUDGING BY THE SIZE OF THE TREES AROUND IT. WELL, AND BEFORE WE LET YOU GO, BRIAN, HAVE YOU EVER BEEN NEAR AN AVALANCHE OR INVOLVED IN AN AVALANCHE IN ALL YOUR YEARS OF SKIING? I'VE ACTUALLY PERSONALLY BEEN CAUGHT IN AN IN-BOUNDS AVALANCHE. IT WAS, UH, AT KIRKWOOD IN MY YOUNGER YEARS. MY BUDDIES AND I ALL RUSHED OUT ACROSS THE TOP OF CHAIR TEN AND DROPPED INTO AN AREA CALLED BIG SISTERS CHUTE. I WAS THE FIRST ONE TO DROP IN AND THE WHOLE THING SLID, AND THE CROWN ON THAT ONE WAS ONLY ABOUT FOUR INCHES, BUT IT ALL FUNNELED INTO A VERY NARROW EXIT OUT OF BIG SISTER. AND SO WHAT WAS FOUR INCHES OF SNOW THEN FUNNELED INTO CHEST HIGH SNOW? AND LUCKILY I WASN'T BURIED, BUT, UH, CERTAINLY SUCKED A LOT OF SNOW AND POWDER INTO MY LUNGS THAT HAD ME, UH, GAGGING FOR A WHILE, BUT CERTAINLY COULD
