Apr 18, 2008 6:22 pm US/Eastern
Snow Rangers Stand By For Extreme Skiing Emergency
TUCKERMAN'S RAVINE, N.H. (WBZ) ―
Despite the glorious weather this week, thousands of people will be skiing in New Hampshire this weekend.
It's extreme skiing at its best, and there are people behind the scenes who work to keep the skiers safe.
New Englanders know the allure of Mount Washington, whether it's for it's natural beauty or a pure adrenaline rush.
Every spring, skiers searching for an ultimate thrill come to Tuckerman's Ravine.
"It's definitely scary hiking up into the bowl," one skier said.
Loaded up with gear, they hike up -- at times straight up -- and the reward is the ride down.
They maneuver through the tough terrain just hoping not to fall. But if they do there are snow rangers ready to respond.
"With an avalanche rescue it's all about time and in reality, someone's drowning. They just happen to be in sold water rather than liquid water," said snow ranger Chris Joosen with the U.S. Forest Service.
With the warm weather the biggest danger is falling ice.
"It's about the cooking snow and the heat and all that ice that develops in December and November," Joosen said. "It's starting to fall off now."
With the melt comes holes that could drop skiers and hikers 80 feet.
"It's not a pure drop. The water erodes the snow and there's no way we could safely get down in there," Joosen explained.
For the snow rangers, the beginning of their day is mostly telling people what's going on.
The snow rangers say skiers who like expert slopes at regular ski areas come to Tuckerman's, but they aren't used to the four mile hike and the steep 55 degree slope.
"A lot of the people that come up are oblivious to all the different things that may hurt them on a particular day," Joosen said.
Snow rangers make sure skiers know the risks so when they attack the mountain they make it safely down.
If you want to head up to Tuckerman's Ravine this weekend, check out the conditions on
Tuckerman's Web site. The U.S. Forest Service snow rangers update the avalanche dangers every morning.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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