you're watching on t.v. coming here live from also a quick check of the headlines. the view that had a of catastrophic believing bailout budgets as other countries once needed to join about a second feels. meanwhile the st petersburg international economic forum has been discussing how to avoid another global economic meltdown and encouraging major funds to take a fresh and it has been new horizons the best as. they can afford to tend to peace

in the dinies the op has an island they need for tolls between kind of doubt and opposition rebels it's also called for russian and african union to act as mediators for the grammys and a voice during the region in an effort to broker peace. as the headlines up next the town special report focuses on people who risk their lives in mountain regions to study out of launchers. the cooler peninsular in russia's north home to the q.b. in the massive mountain range this is the cold and windy bolshoi process the snow here is between one and a half and four meters deep avalanche safety specialists are probing the snow structure on one of the slopes.

the top layer of snow drifts on the slope is unstable and skis could trigger an avalanche of tension to those of you who it came to skull mountain peaks please be careful. some avalanches a wet others a dry it all depends on the snows composition the speed of avalanches varies between seventy and four hundred kilometers an hour a man can do nothing in the face of tons of snow rushing down to such a velocity. and yes people do live in the mountains they study avalanches to be able to protect themselves from the beaches skiers and snowboarders tempt fate by taking to the mountain slopes. and in this weather station in the queue the massive is situated close to the town of killer ups one hundred fifty kilometers north of the arctic circle it is one of

the instruments of the avalanche safety service it records dozens of readings several times a day snow and ground temperatures wind direction solar activity and precipitation all those factors affect the snow and its structure the station staff uses them as the basis of the policeman recall casts concerning avalanches. what triggers a sudden movement of snow in the mountains resulting in a formidable natural disaster. finding the answer to that question is the job of scientists to some creatures bugs hydra meteorological university one of the facts is triggering an avalanche is nothing more unusual than snow evaporation little flakes turn into vapor even at very low temperatures. but with. the talk lower of the snow but he escapes into the year. it settles on large snowflakes turns into us. as

a result snow in the lower turns into large round crystals. this makes the top most slide over the ground pellets. the only way to fight avalanches is to get them to move before they begin sliding down the road or whenever a weather forecast points to snow instability avalanches or set off to prevent the risk of a larger one occurring before the roads are blocked ski routes are closed and the area is cordoned off a modern computer system controls avalanche movement gases fed into a bell suspended from a helicopter an operator then slid his a spark in the belt on the gas explodes the shockwave triggers an avalanche.

and. this method is widely used in the foothills of the caucasus close to the city of sochi russia's most popular ski resort is situated his. own mountains in the world are prone to avalanches and all of them are affected by our lunch every single one. yes it's locust avalanche prone if it is steeper than fifteen to twenty degrees. in two thousand and fourteen winter olympics is to take place here in new ski lifts are being built a modern trails are being prepared for the downhill routes varying complexity some are just right for budding skiers others pose a challenge to professional sportsman. the caucasus mountains occupy an area about

the same size of an average european country roots provided with all the necessary facilities take up a small part of the slopes so far it is only possible to reach most of the mountain tops by helicopter going downhill where nobody. his set foot is the ambition of many skiers and snowboarders there is a special term for this costly form of entertainment kelly skiing. to get their wish her well being is what every free rider aspies see it just takes your breath away to ride down the slope after a helicopter that draws you to some out of the way now can the mountains.

national. once we've left the helicopter we have to test the snow. so what this means is well we make it picks to see the pattern of snow fall in the last few weeks. if we see that there's a danger of an avalanche happening that day and we just pack up straightaway and go home when a situation is just right though we follow this route down a mountain. or the wilds of the ribs the better the snow short you have so many different routes lying ahead of you so you can choose whichever way you want to go down the mountain bending on a level of skiing your experience and knowledge is how good you are. studying and forecasting avalanches is a complicated process with many phases any forecast supplied by the weather station

can never be certain accurate conclusions are made only after testing the snow cover as a particular point. one layer of the snow is compact the other is loose you can see it is fluffy. but you see if i touch this with my finger it is almost uniform i'm going to see how thick it is and there's twenty five centimeters of snow drift. a snow drift is the layer that moves with the wind from one location to another this type of snow as the weakest bone of the lower layers. but when somebody comes to the slope they see such snow but they don't know what it is like underneath it may be packed and in my case it is not dangerous what if it is unstable down there you just step on the snow and it slides away from you if the snows temperature structure and density are all measured by the specialists to see how the layers bond together they handle the readings right on the spot it's.

a test demonstrates that the top layer of the snow drift on the slope is unstable. so it may start sliding and ski is all snowboards right over it which could then trigger an avalanche so now we're going to designate the area as has a list and closed to the public. attention those of you who are keen just go mountain peaks please be careful according to the avalanche safety center a heightened alert has been declared for the next two days because of an avalanche hazard. notionally video or is a ski resort within the arctic circle originally it was meant as a place where the people of the town of killed lost could spend their vacations today tourists from across the country come to visit. we were going there for ten days but trouble struck on the second. that memories of what happened then are so vivid in young's mind that it seems as

though it were just yesterday but in fact several years of passed since the accident in many ways that incident changed his life. and if you look at the slope from below you will see a clearing between the trees it is there because frequent avalanches sweep away trees standing in their path i did not know at the time that the slope was avalanche prone. none of the people who came to that slope could even imagine the outcome. free riders make a special point of looking for wild slopes to ride over version snow. for the past ten years you have guinea cliff

a cough has taken groups of free riders from the city of your coast to the mom i pass on the southern shore of lake baikal. the lake in the air could screech in is the world's largest body of fresh water locals call it to see it is fifteen hundred meters deep in places. where it will cover part of the distance over the ice of lake baikal then it will be several kilometers of a winding path in the mountains another ten kilometers along a stream gorge. you could say the place is in the wilderness there isn't any electricity or a decent road there it can only be reached either by snowmobile or on foot. on the way to its destination the group registers with the local rescue service. an official of the service and rescue party takes note of its roots the number of

people involved and approximate date of the group's return if the group fails to turn up on time press two teams will undergo a search and rescue operation like all other groups of this kind this one is briefed before it continues its journey. i wish to formally warn you of possible avalanches in the mountains you should be on alert especially after lunch time when warmer weather normally causes snow falls also a storm alert has been declared for tomorrow north westerly winds of up to twenty meters a second. a member of the rescue services joins the clip recovery group they go as far as the foothills where the road ends they then cover ten kilometers across low hills with an all terrain vehicle before taking a ride from the slope of the group needs to hike up hill on force as no motor vehicles can get up such an incline.

heading towards slopes hidden from the sun because that's where pax knows likely to be only. you may begin moving any time now that's why i will go skiing on the shady side close to the forests the snow still holds on that route. despite the long hole the group of free riders managed to scale the mountain and go downhill on the first day and for some so.

just see. the arm.

band. the cold the peninsula within the arctic circle is russia's northernmost point a group of sportsman skiing in the mountains has been hit by an avalanche rescue was of a care oscar regional rescue services receiver request for assistance they do not know how long it will take them to reach the scene a lot depends on distance the terrain and weather conditions they have vivid memories of what happened to a group of skiers from st petersburg a few years ago. near the edge is one of those who know all too well the full force of an avalanche feels like. new york but as i approach the edge to get ready for

the descent was it me yes i was knocked over with such force from my clothes and happened in the shuttle and everything became unfastened. i sensed i was tumbling down at top speed with an enormous mass of something crazing on me who told me it was like being under a stamping press. i cannot say how long all that lasted i was told the avalanche was on the move for only four or five seconds but to me it seemed like an eternity with enormous blocks of snow and ice reduce everything in their path to smithereens they sweep away trees and destroy buildings at one point i felt as if i was literally bending over backwards with the stress on my spine was so great i thought my back would be broken. then my head was out of the snow. i think my lungs had filled up with snow and i strain to cough it up i remember

feeling afterwards that my chest had become lighter. yann was dug up by a companion who had not been caught up in the avalanche rescuers found three more men buried under the snow they were dead quite often it takes several days to find victims buried in an avalanche for me to long proves they used to dig into the snow this is the only method to find a free rider unless he has a radio beacon on it. when appropriate something soft it's clear that it's a victim the sound produced by the probe in that case is also helpful so we begin digging right there and then felix eva is a doctor with a local rescue team he always joins the team on t.v. when they go to help avalanche victims his eight kilogram kit contains all the necessary equipment on site reanimation though in practice he rarely needs it. we're calling to statistics if victims are stuck in an avalanche to fifteen minutes

their chances of survival of fifty percent any longer and there is a sharp drop in the chances of survival the ability of no we haven't recovered a buried survivor from an avalanche around here in the past ten years. intense preparations for the winter olympics have cut the number of burgeon slopes in the vicinity of sochi available for free riding the results rescuers will be hard pushed to recall the last time they dealt with avalanche related incidents. and ten eyes to counter the snow on the mountain slopes they are the visible part of what is otherwise covered with snow these ultimately weather stations days or is continuously supplied to an online computer of the resort's avalanche control surface. with the station measures snow depth and temperature humidity we need characteristics solar radiation

a plan and it's very precious lease and more allow us to forecast avalanches but you know the principles of. these old looking pipes on mountaintops a part of the results of the launch safety system. failing to so-called shelters booths containing gas cylinders with oxygen propane. more mellow everything's in order here from a shelter oxygen in front pain is fed to an empty avalanche come from special pipes and operators sets off the gas mixture by pressing a button. in the old days all resorts use guns or mortars to fight avalanches they would be brought to a slope and pfizer designated targets nowadays there gradually falling into disuse . we have resolved the problem by taking on purely ecological

systems used elsewhere in the world. cup they don't damage the ground either in summer or in winter. they simply remove the snow whenever we want to get rid of it or get out on the. a computer at the avalanche control service receive signals from automatic weather stations twenty four hours a day irrespective of weather conditions the figures are then analyzed. if necessary the operator uses the same computer to set a small allergen emotion which cannot do any harm. which as we say any slip can pose an avalanche hazard. avalanches make even the most unlikely places. enthusiastic take every possible precaution that they can never be fully guarantee against being caught in an avalanche.

of of that is that when you get on the fresh snow it's already under stress but you make things worse by adding your weight to it on top of vanity you cutting the snow with your skis and all my combined myself an avalanche. normally the guy will do the job himself of testing the snow and if he senses the possibility of an avalanche he might deliberately force the snow to get in the ring. if the it's a boy if you cut into the snow in front of me that doesn't mean it won't snap behind it is true the first break up front little crack behind you to name out or whether you've done the car thing well somebody else has done it for you with the evidence all the. scientists and some petersburg research the peculiarities of the mountains ice and snow there is also surprising as it turns out an ice rupture generates a radio wave the can be located. i mean the most interesting thing about it

is that radio frequency illusions take place shortly before i was sharing. this means it's possible to forecast as well as record our sheerin remember this can be done if only for a short time before just an a. oral surgeons do. experiments with snow by the scientists have also demonstrated that during its slide and have lunch to him it's radio waves. so he isn't it is that rodeo missions are generated by a small snow crystals rubbing against one another is a reason evidence pointing to the existence of radio frequency radiation even in a visible range they will see light coming from nighttime avalanches. for the time being it is possible to focused of a launch is only a few seconds ahead special radio receivers a use for the purpose. mounted on my on the southern side of lake

baikal is known for its fluffy snow it is light soft and powdery freeriding fans need to demonstrate highly professional skills in such conditions otherwise one uncertain move may land you waist deep in the snow lawn untamed slopes of fruit for the numerous risks for the novice. but. there you can see a large area covered with snow there are lots of trees there five years ago you go to a big avalanche in december swept away everything in its way good luck place is a constant reminder of the threat posed by avalanche of us.

free riders from neighboring towns have built cabins in the foothills of mount my my they spend weekends here there is nothing inside apart from stoves tables and makeshift beds the cabins are almost buried in snow which makes them look like big snow drifts with chimneys before they get to the mountaintop just spent a good deal of time scrambling along with skis or boards on their backs yes you may not like it here in full you enjoy sliding down hill you're unlikely to enjoy going uphill on foot completely nor are you likely to be very keen to stoke the coals in the stove even during the night here you can't leave without wearing snowshoes to cope with it you really need to love it all this landscape this forest this weather

and this permanent snowfall.

more news today violence is once again flared up. these are the images the world has been seeing from the streets of canada. trying to look for asians are relieved a. mum.

well. bringing you the latest in science and technology from around russia. we've got the future coverage.