It’s not quite as safe as the driven snow in many North American ski resorts this winter. As many as 23 skiers and snowboarders have been buried alive by avalanches in the Rockies from Canada to the United States. Most ski resorts have blown through their yearly budgets for avalanche reduction work since November 2008. Errant weather patterns are the main culprit for the massive piles of powder ready to spring on the winter loving jock. Scientist and avalanche experts are flummoxed over the high death toll at the beginning of the snow season. It would seem that the high country is getting too much of a good thing. Mainly from the lingering influence of La Nina’s drive of supercharged damp air in the Pacific Northwest, (according to the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration, NOAA.) Ski bums beware, avalanche roulette may be included in your next lift ticket.

This entry was posted on Friday, January 16th, 2009 at 8:14 pm and is filed under environmental stewardship, weather patterns. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.