on the top I looked down upon the panic 

 through the snow-dust-filled air and saw trees 

 flinging their arms wildly about, bowing and 

 posturing to the snow. Occasionally a treetop 

 was snapped off, and these broken tops swirled 

 wildly about, hurried forward or backward, or 

 were floated upward on rotating, slower cur- 

 rents. The sides of the slide crumbled and ex- 

 panded; so it became lower, flatter, and wider, 

 as it slid forward on a moderate up grade. A 

 half-mile after leaving the gorge, the slide col- 

 lided at right angles with a high moraine. The 

 stop telescoped the slide, and the shock ex- 

 ploded the rear third and flung it far to right 

 and left, scattering it over a wide area. Half 

 a minute later I clawed out of the snow-pile, 

 almost suffocated, but unhurt. 



Toward the close of my last winter as govern- 

 ment "Snow Observer" I made a snowshoe trip 

 along the upper slopes of the Continental Di- 

 vide and scaled a number of peaks in the Rocky 

 Mountains of central Colorado. During this 

 trip I saw a large and impressive snow-slide at 

 a thrillingly close range. ;^ It broke loose and 



94 



