European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - March 15, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 16 the stars and stripes saturday March 15, 1986 dissecting snowflakes by Brenda Watson associated press a top mount Weissel Uhoch i Switzerland Laboratory workers dissect snowflakes under a Microscope to find out what causes avalanches and How to prevent them from killing people. We Are the Only ones in the world with this Type of organization and this task said Claude Jaccard 56, director of Switzerland s Snow and Avalanche research Institute. Without our Institute we would have a much larger increase in tourist deaths in avalanches in Switzerland he added. Local people traditionally fearful of the White death generally Are More aware of dangerous conditions he said. The Institute s four laboratories atop the 8,702-foot Mountain look like labs anywhere except that the 26 researchers sport Bright red snowsuits thick fur hats and heavy gloves to work in areas cooled to minus 40 f. Examining Snow under a Microscope can be Tricky even in a sub freezing lab Jaccard said. Slicing Snow to examine a Cross Section can disturb the natural pattern and destroy the Experiment so researchers inject it with a special liquid that freezes and keeps the Snow intact. The researchers study Snow and ice formations to pinpoint what causes avalanches How to prevent them and if they cannot be prevented How Best to warn people to avoid Avalanche prone areas. There has been no quantum leap Jaccard said. But we have improved  the Institute helped develop steel Fence like barriers which now speckle Many Alpine peaks above the tree line to slow or Stop avalanches by breaking their slide. Forests also hinder avalanches because Snow gathers on branches and Falls to the ground in clumps preventing mass slides said Jaccard. But Snow can damage Trees  said the Institute is examining ways to protect forests from its effects. Also Snow changes consistency As it warms and cools. This is Why avalanches generally take different forms in the dead of Winter and in the Spring when temperatures Are warming Jaccard said. A 1985 Avalanche Between Zermatt and Taeusch Switzerland hit a minibus and car. A photo conditions Are Ripe for an Avalanche after a heavy snowfall blankets an old layer of Snow. When Snow comes under pressure additional stress even from a Lone skier can set off an Avalanche he said. In very Low temperatures Snow tends to break cleanly and slide Down the Mountain sometimes in a Cloud of powder that looks like steam. When it is warmer Snow moves More slowly and sometimes has a River like effect. The Institute collects information daily from offices scattered throughout the Swiss Alps and based on those reports issues warnings to villagers skiers and alpinist. Over the centuries there have been disastrous avalanches and of course Mountain residents Are aware of the danger says Jaccard. Since the Institute began keeping statistics the worst Winter was 1950-51, when 1,301 avalanches were recorded and 98 people were killed. In 1983-84 there were 449 avalanches that caused 41 deaths and in the season 1982-83 there were 99 avalanches that caused 26 deaths. For ski resorts by Lisa Levitt Ryckman associated press he locals say it s like skiing on velvet. The ski patrol at Sun Valley Idaho Calls it the magic carpet. Powder is the Pride of Western ski resorts a Dusty carpet of Snow so Fine and dry it won t form a snowball. For years the demand has been so great that when nature fails to deliver Man and machine have stepped in. More than anything else ski resort people Are actually Snow Farmers Sun Valley spokesman Carl Wilgus said. You re harvesting a  now a biotechnology company based in Oakland calif., advanced genetic sciences inc., has developed a product designed to act like a fertilizer for snowfields. Snoma is a harmless natural bacterium that enhances Frost formation. Doug Sarojak marketing director for age said that under the right conditions Snoma can help machines produce More of the dry powder that skiers crave. Because of the ability of the product to Start the freezing process to Speed it it s going to allow ski areas to make More Snow earlier in the season to better maintain some High traffic areas on slopes and give them better Overall ski conditions he said. Snoma packaged in powder form in a cake mix size Box is designed to be mixed with water and pumped through the Snow making guns. One $65 Box can cover an acre with a foot of Snow Sarojak said. Some resorts report getting 50 percent More Snow in a Given period using Snoma rather than just conventional water and air. Eight . Resorts have used Snoma commercially and 23 others have expressed interest he said. I be talked to several operators who swear by it said Kathe Dillmann of the National ski areas association which represents about 380 of the 680 ski areas nationwide. Steve Lacey Sun Valley s Snow making chief wants More feedback on Snoma before he tries it. Like 75 percent of All . Ski resorts the resort has invested millions in Snow making equipment. Sun Valley which can cover about 700 of its 1,275 skiable acres starts cranking out artificial Snow in october a month before the season starts and continues through mid March. A 25-person staff works around the clock adjusting the Snow Quality by changing the air to water ratio monitoring the pumps and moving the Snow guns for even coverage on the slopes. Man made Snow is denser so it stays in place longer and it s Fluffy and dry the Best stuff for skiing. People get on some hard Snow somewhere and automatically assume it s artificial Snow Lacey said. And 70 percent of the time it s natural  Eastern resorts rely heavily on artificial Snow. Sun Valley installed equipment in 1972, but some other Western ski areas smug in the belief that they would always have hundreds of inches of Snow each season ignored it. Then came the droughts one in the mid-1970s, another in the Early 80s. In one year Western resorts spend $30 million on Snow making Dillmann said. They Learned their lesson said Nappy Neaman Sun Valley s assistant director of slopes. It s your lifeline. People want to be in the West they want to ski. It s just a big insurance policy. It s your guarantee they re going to come