Avalanche at Tunnel Creek | Into the Backcountry | 1

Against The Odds

Wondery

Cassie De Pecol, History, Society & Culture, Dolby, Mike Corey, Dolby Atmos, Atmos

4.7 • 7.2K Ratings

🗓️ 5 April 2022

⏱️ 49 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Lured by the promise of fresh powder, more and more skiers and snowboarders are heading onto backcountry slopes. But in the wrong conditions, these areas can turn from playgrounds to death traps in an instant. That's what happened to one group of elite athletes in the Tunnel Creek backcountry section near Stevens Pass Ski Resort in Washington State. There, without warning, five skiers found themselves caught in one of nature’s deadliest forces – an avalanche.

Listen early and ad free with Wondery+. Join Wondery+ for exclusives, binges, early access, and ad free listening. Available in the Wondery App https://wondery.app.link/againsttheodds.

Please Support our Sponsors!

Indeed - Get started right now with a $75 credit at indeed.com/THEODDS

Ten Thousand - Go to Tenthousand.cc and enter the code: THEODDS to get 15% off your purchase

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Hey, Prime members, you can listen to Against the Odds ad-free on Amazon Music. Download the app today.
0:07.0	Join Wondry Plus in Apple Podcasts or the Wondry app to listen to Against the Odds early and ad-free.
0:14.0	Wondry Plus
0:24.0	Elise Sogsted, grins as her skis slice through fresh snow.
0:29.0	Clouds of fine powder erupt all around her.
0:33.0	This is what she lives for.
0:37.0	It's February 19, 2012 in the Cascade Mountains of Washington State.
0:43.0	Sogsted is a world champion free skier and backcountry runs like this are her domain.
0:50.0	Instead of groomed trails at ski resorts, she prefers to zip through untouched snow, moving at high speed, conquering deep powder and daredevil drops.
1:00.0	Today's slope is called Tunnel Creek and it's checking every box.
1:06.0	She shifts her weight and snow sprays high and wide to her right. She's like a car blasting through a puddle.
1:14.0	She turns again, skis ripping through the knee deep powder, cold, crisp air blasts her face, sunlight glints off the snow as if the mountains have been sprinkled with glitter.
1:26.0	When the slope gets steeper, Sog said crouch is lower and gains speed. She shoots down the mountain, laughing with delight.
1:34.0	Further down the slope, she sees her guide, Chris Rudolph, stop among some spruce trees.
1:41.0	He's the marketing director at Stevens Pass, the ski resort that lies on the other side of the mountain.
1:47.0	Sog said it's just here visiting, but Rudolph knows every inch of Tunnel Creek. She trusts him to lead the way down.
1:54.0	She stops a few yards away from Rudolph, who's grinning ear to ear.
1:59.0	Didn't I tell you Elise? Tunnel Creek is the best.
2:03.0	Yeah, the power's amazing. She looks back up the slope to watch the next skier fly down the mountain.
2:10.0	She's not sure how many are in their group, but doesn't? Maybe more.
2:15.0	It's the best powder day of the season, and a lot of Rudolph's friends wanted in on this run.
2:21.0	The skier stops about 25 yards below her and Rudolph, and lets out a woof.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Wondery, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Wondery and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.