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Transcript/Script((PLAYBOOK SLUG: LOGON: AVALANCHE FORECAST TECH (TV R)
HEADLINE: Technology Helps Forecasters Predict Avalanche Dangers
TEASER: Sensors measure snowpack weakness that could set off an avalanche
PUBLISHED AT: 3/1/2022 AT 9 am
BYLINE: Shelley Schlender
CONTRIBUTOR:
DATELINE: BOULDER, Colorado
VIDEOGRAPHER: Shelley Schlender
PRODUCER: Shelley Schlender/Luis Da Costa
SCRIPT EDITORS: Michelle Quinn,
VIDEO SOURCE (S): The Powder Cloud/YouTube, CAIC/YouTube, Montana Subzero Research Lab, AdventureData/YouTube, Zoom, Outside/YouTube
PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB __ TV _X_ RADIO _X_
TRT: 1:58
VID APPROVED BY: BR
TYPE: TVPKG
EDITOR NOTES: ))
((INTRO)) ((Avalanche forecasters use a slew of technology to predict avalanche risk and help lovers of backcountry winter sports to be prepared. From Boulder Colorado, Shelley Schlender reports.))
((Mountainside becoming avalanche)) ((CG: The Powder Cloud/YouTube))
((09:26 - 12:00 BROLL of XCOUNTRY SKIER)) ((CG: CAIC/YouTube))
((NARRATOR)) Snow country is beautiful, but it can be deadly. Thirty-seven people died last year in
avalanches in the U.S. Avalanche forecasters routinely give backcountry users a bracing message. [[FOR RADIO: Ethan Greene directs the Colorado Avalanche Information Center. He spoke to VOA over Zoom]] ((Ethan Greene, Colorado Avalanche Information Center)) ((CG: Zoom)) “You have a lot of opportunity to not die, by not getting caught in avalanches.” ((Broll:))
((00:17:26 - 00:21)) ((Xcountry skiers)) ((CG: CAIC/YouTube))
((00:21-00:24)) ((Interactive Avalanche Map)) ((CG: CAIC/YouTube))
((00:24-00:35)) ((CG: CAIC/YouTube))
((NARRATOR)) To promote backcountry safety, the Colorado Avalanche Information Center provides interactive avalanche maps and weekly forecasts. [[FOR RADIO: Brian Lazar an avalanche forecaster broadcasts warnings such as this in a recording provided by the Colorado Avalanche Information Center]]
((Brian Lazar, Colorado Avalanche Information Center Forecaster)) ((Courtesy CAIC/YouTube))
“. . . The slopes that have been safe to ride for the last few weeks may no longer be safe.”
((00:35:20 - 00:47)) ) ((CG: CAIC/YouTube))
((NARRATOR)) Weather satellite imagery and geospatial databases of mountain terrain help forecasters predict avalanche risk. Forecasters also dig snow pits. By hand. [[FOR RADIO: Avalanche Forecaster Ben Pritchett shows examples of weak and dangerous snow in a video by the Colorado Avalanche Information Center.]] ((Ben Pritchett Colorado Avalanche Information Center Forecaster))
((CG: CAIC/YouTube))
“You can see the very large, weak depth hoar at the bottom of the snowpack.” ((CG Montana Subzero Research Lab))) ((NARRATOR)) A faster way to get this data may come from Laser-based LIDAR devices. [[FOR RADIO…Kevin Hammonds, the director of Montana’s SubZero Research Lab, spoke about LIDAR with VOA over Zoom.]] ((Kevin Hammonds, Montana SubZero Research Lab)) ((CG: ZOOM)) “It has a ten-kilometer range, and it can, it can survey 360 degrees.” ((BROLL)) - ((58:11 - 1:01 LYTE PROBE IN ACTION)) ((CG:AdventureData/YouTube))
Kevin Hammonds is also researching a so-called “smart probe.” ((Kevin Hammonds, Montana SubZero Research Lab)) ((CG: ZOOM)) “It has both a force resistance sensor and a near infrared sensor in the probe, so that as you probe it through the snow, it’s collecting all this data as it goes.”
((1:09:26 - 1:15)) ((backcountry skier in an avalanche.)) ((CG: CAIC/YouTube))
((1:15 - 1:17 avalanche beacons)) ((CG: Outside/You Tube))
((NARRATOR)) No technology can predict every avalanche, so experts recommend safety classes and an avalanche beacon. [[FOR RADIO: Ethan Greene ]]
((1:23:08 - 1:26 ((avalanche beacons)) ((CG Outside/YouTube))
((Ethan Greene Colorado Avalanche Information Center)) ((CG: Zoom))
“It’s a radio device that sends out a signal. Everybody in your group carries one. If somebody gets caught in an avalanche, the rest of the group can pick up that signal and locate that person.”
((snowmobiles heading out on snow)) ((CG: CAIC/YouTube))
((NARRATOR)) Even a seemingly small mistake can turn adventure into disaster, so Ethan Greene adds this advice. ((Ethan Greene Colorado Avalanche Information Center)) ((CG: Zoom)) “The most important thing to do is to use the tech between your ears, which is your brain to make good decisions and avoid those avalanche prone slopes.”
((1:42:30 1:45)) ((Larger Remotely Triggered Avalanche)) ((CG: CAIC/YouTube))
((1:45 - 1:51)) ((CG: CAIC/YouTube))
((1:51 - 1:59)) ((Snowmobile Triggered Avalanche near Leadville)) ((CG: CAIC/YouTube))
((NARRATOR))
And, with the help of technology, winter sports lovers have a better chance of surviving on the slopes.
For VOA News, Shelley Schlender in Boulder Colorado
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
Program Namelog on
NetworkVOA
Embargo DateMarch 1, 2022 10:16 EST
BylineShelley Schlender
Brand / Language ServiceUS Agency for Global Media, Voice of America - English
