DENVER?? A weak, sugary snowpack is raising the avalanche danger in parts of the West, leaving slopes vulnerable to crumbling under the pressure of heavy snowstorms that also have lured skiers and snowmobilers looking for fresh powder.
Avalanches killed three people in Colorado over the weekend, including two who were skiing at resorts that were pounded with new snow. On Monday, an avalanche buried a man in Montana, but snowmobilers and skiers were able to quickly dig him out. In Wyoming, U.S. Forest Service officials warned backcountry enthusiasts to beware of dangerous conditions.
Avalanche forecasters say a weak base layer of snow, packed with large grains of ice that aren't well connected to each other, is plaguing parts of Colorado, Utah, Montana and California and could keep avalanche risks high for the rest of the season.
"This has the potential to be a pretty dangerous winter because of the foundation," Colorado Avalanche Information Center avalanche forecaster Scott Toepfer said Tuesday. "It may haunt us into the spring."
The Colorado Avalanche Information Center has recorded eight avalanche deaths around the West this season, with four in Colorado, three along the Wyoming-Montana border and one in Utah. There were 25 recorded last winter and 36 the season before.
All four Colorado deaths this winter happened within the last week following storms. A backcountry skier near the Snowmass ski area was trapped Jan. 18. Resort officials said one skier died after being caught in a small avalanche at Winter Park Resort on Sunday, and a 13-year-old skier died after being trapped Sunday on a closed area at Vail Mountain.
On Monday, rescuers reached a snowmobiler who took shelter in a snow cave after an avalanche trapped him and his brother over the weekend. Jordan Lundstedt, 21, of Fort Collins, made swimming motions to stay near the surface and dug himself out of the snow, but 24-year-old Tyler Lundstedt died after being buried under an estimated 2 to 3 feet of snow, said Mark White of Jackson County Search and Rescue.
Story: 1 snowmobiler dead, 1 rescued after Colorado avalancheThe brothers' snowmobiles had gotten stuck, and they were on foot when the avalanche struck, either late Saturday or early Sunday, White said.
Jordan Lundstedt told rescuers the brothers had avalanche beacons, which led him to find his brother in the dark, but the slide stripped him of his other gear.
More than 100 slides have been reported to the Colorado avalanche center since Friday.
In Utah, avalanche dangers remained high on Tuesday across the northern mountains after two back-to-back storms brought the region its first significant snowfall of the season. Several feet of snow fell on the mountains through the weekend, adding dangerous layers atop older snow.
The instability can last days after a storm, Utah Avalanche Center Director Bruce Temper said.
"That's what makes it so dangerous because after the storm is over, it's just basic human nature to think when the storms are finished, the danger is finished, but the snowpack is just teetering on the edge," Temper said. "It's just waiting for someone to give it a thump and it'll just come on down."
New gear, new technology and backcountry ski and snowboard films have lured more and more powder hounds to seek fresh snow after storms.
This season, icy base layers have proven a weak matrix for snow dumps to rest on. If more than a foot of snow piles up quickly, like it did in Colorado last weekend with gusts reaching 70 mph, the layers of snow can give way, Toepfer said.
"If you built a foundation of your house on potato chips, you get a wind storm and your house is going to blow over," Toepfer said.
In Colorado, north-facing slopes that don't see as much sun and slopes at 30- to 40-degree angles are prime avalanche country.
Officials at the Utah Avalanche Center were warning people to remain out of much of the backcountry. More than a dozen avalanches have been reported just since Sunday, but Utah has only had one slide-related death this season.
Jamie Pierre, a world record-holding professional skier who once famously jumped off a 255-foot cliff, died Nov. 13 in the mountains near Salt Lake City while on a steep slope at Snowbird Ski and Summer Resort. The resort wasn't yet open and had not begun avalanche control.
Avalanche deaths are more common in the backcountry than at ski resorts. Out of about 900 avalanche deaths nationwide since the 1950-1951 winter, 32 were within terrain that was open for riding at ski resorts, according to the center.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46130691/ns/weather/
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There was some playfully feigned confusion this afternoon as to who the star of the new NBC multicamera sitcom Are You There, Chelsea? is. Chelsea Handler, on whose bestselling memoir Are You There, Vodka? It?s Me, Chelsea the show is based, is featured prominently in the promos for the series, which premieres later this month. Are You There, Chelsea? centers on a twentysomething bad-girl version of Handler who is played by Laura Prepon while Handler appears in seven of the 13 episodes as her Born-Again Christian sister. Handler, who executive produces the series, was quick to set the record straight. ?We want people to know that I?m part of the show but that this is the star of the show,? Handler said, motioning to Prepon. She stressed that any advertising for the show should be crystal clear. ?We don?t want anyone to get confused or think I?m the star? It?s a lot more fun for me to play my sister than it would be to play myself. (Handler has a sister in real life). It?s a lot more challenging ? But it?s Laura?s show ultimately? I?d love to be in it as often as possible, but I seriously don?t have the time. I like my E! show, I like being under the radar.? The last comment evoked some groans as it came out as a jab at the cable network.
Scott Thompson will receive an annual salary of $1 million as Yahoo?s new president and CEO, the company said in a Security and Exchange Commission filing today. His total deal with bonuses and grants could reach as high as $27 million during his first year with the struggling Internet giant. Yahoo said the former PayPal chief will be eligible for a bonus twice his salary each year, along with an annual equity grant with a 2012 target value of $11 million. One-time items include a $1.5 million cash bonus, an inducement grant of $5 million and a grant of restricted stock units with a value of $6.5 million. Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal is reporting that Yahoo has hired a search firm to identify possible additions ? and likely replacements ? to the board of directors. The group that includes chairman Roy Bostock and co-founder Jerry Yang has been criticized by shareholders as the company contemplates its future. Today?s SEC filing also said Yahoo has increased the size of its board from nine to 10 members, adding Thompson as a director. 
After a dismal fall, NBC is pinning its hopes for a ratings turnaround on a slew of midseason series. One of them is legal drama The Firm, based on the John Grisham bestseller, which the network acquired in the spring. The series, premiering Sunday, continues the story of attorney Mitchell McDeere a decade later.
There was no elephant in the room during NBC?s executive session at TCA?s winter press tour today because chairman Bob Greenblatt shot it down right away. ?We had a really bad fall, worse than I?d hoped for but about as I expected,? was Greenblatt?s first line onstage. ?People say the only way to go is up which I believe is true, but there is a long way to get there.? The new NBC chairman made no bones about the network?s poor ratings performance this season, including from NBC?s new shows, which he blamed on a lack of strong lead-ins, an aging returning lineup and major cast changes on flagship series Law & Order: SVU and The Office. But ?the good news is that we have new owners willing to invest not only with financial resources but with patience,? Greenblatt said, referring to Comcast and NBCUniversal CEO Steve Burke.
Prime Suspect?s failure to click with viewers ?was probably the biggest disappointment,? Greenblatt said. ?Was it too cable, was (Maria Bello?s character) too abrasive? Maybe I should say it was the hat and move on.? In the final analysis, it seems like ?the audience wanted to be entertained with comedy and fairytales? this fall, ?and there wasn?t appetite in the country for a hard-hitting cop show.? Greenblatt was more blunt about NBC?s other canceled new fall drama, The Playboy Club. ?Playboy was a just a rejected concept,? he said. ?We thought going into the period would interest people, but I don?t think people were that fascinated by that milieu and place.? As for the high-profile midseason entry Smash, Greenblatt tried to downplay expectations. ?I don?t think it?s a make-or-break show, but it?s a really good potentially long-term asset for us.?
EXCLUSIVE: Disney has tapped Robert Stromberg to make his feature directorial debut on Maleficent, the Linda Woolverton-scripted revisionist take on the Sleeping Beauty fairy tale that is being constructed as a star vehicle for Angelina Jolie to play the villainess. While Stromberg is new to the director?s chair, he is no stranger to dealing with big-ticket spectacle films. He has been production designer on Avatar and Alice In Wonderland, and Disney?s upcoming Oz The Great And Powerful. He also worked on visual effects for such films as 2012, Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World?s End and Master And Commander. Joe Roth is producing.
EXCLUSIVE: Warner Bros just issued an email to the members of the Writers Branch of the Academy in an attempt to fix its mistake of sending some of them the wrong version of the script for J Edgar by Oscar-winning Milk scribe Dustin Lance Black. Instead of Black?s final shooting script, the studio sent a version given it by Malpaiso that was used in post-production and for continuity, 
Dear Member of the Writers Branch:
Well, this has to feel good to organizations like the MPAA, who have been banging the drum about antipiracy laws that have some teeth. The first of five convicted operators behind the illegal file-sharing site NinjaVideo.net has been sentenced after all pleaded guilty to criminal conspiracy and copyright infringement. Co-founder Hana Amal Beshara, 30, of North Brunswick, N.J., will serve 22 months in prison, two years of supervised release, complete 500 hours of community service, repay $209,826.95 that she personally obtained from her work and hand over financial accounts and computer equipment. She was one of the main operators of the site, which gave users the ability to download movies still in theaters or yet to be released, with that business taking in more than $505,000 in income. The site was one of nine taken down in June by Operation In Our Sites, an initiative targeting online piracy that involves Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York. U.S. District Judge Anthony J. Trenga in the Eastern District of Virginia made the ruling. 
Ex-NBC programming chief Ben Silverman was back in a familiar and frightening spot this morning: At TCA in Pasadena, representing NBC. But this isn?t 2009, and there is a different guy atop of NBC Entertainment in Bob Greenblatt. Silverman was here as executive producer of the new NBC reality competition series Fashion Star that features host Elle Macpherson and mentors Jessica Simpson, Nicole Richie and John Varvatos. So it was a different Silverman ? more relaxed to be sure ? but also in many ways the same guy: He still looked fashion-plate lean and the epitome of shrewd salesman. Silverman admitted that he didn?t see Greenblatt?s session earlier in the morning, quipping, ?They were doing my hair.? Also not changed from the time Silverman was in Greenblatt?s chair is the plight of NBC, which continues to be stuck in fourth place, something the Jeff Zucker-Ben Silverman regime contributed to. When a critic pointed out that Greenblatt painted ?such a sad picture? of NBC during his presentation, Silverman replied: ?I?m thrilled to be making this show on NBC. I can?t imagine a better time period on television than following The Biggest Loser (also produced by Silverman) for the audience we want. ? I feel incredibly happy and excited, and I?m betting on Bob. I love his creativity.? And how does it feel for Silverman to be back with so many of his ?friends? in ? 
EXCLUSIVE: TBS has picked up to series Men At Work, a multicamera sitcom created by Breckin Meyer, star of TNT?s dramedy Franklin & Bash, which originated at TBS. The series, picked up for 10 episodes, is being produced by Sony Pictures TV and Jamie Tarses? studio-based Fanfare, which also produce Franklin & Bash, which has been renewed for a second season. Men at Work is an ensemble multi-camera comedy that explores bromance, sexcapades and office adventures of four buddies who work at a magazine. It centers on Milo (Danny Masterson), who finds comfort in his three best friends (James Lesure, Michael Cassidy and Adam Busch). They help reinvent his manhood after being dumped by his girlfriend while navigating their own personal and professional lives. As for TBS? other 2 multi-camera comedy pilot, Sullivan & Son and BFF, the network is expected to wait to see both before making a decision. 
With the contracts of two of NBCUniversal?s highest-profile pieces of talent, producer Ryan Seacrest and Today Show co-host? Matt Lauer, coming up, the company will do everything possible to keep both, according to NBC chairman Bob Greenblatt. The commens came on the heels of reports about a meeting between NBC News and Seacrest, whose rich deal with E! Entertainment is up this month, about him potentially replacing Lauer on Today.
Preston Beckman, Fox Broadcasting Company?s EVP of strategic program planning and research, will transition into a new role as Senior Strategist for Fox Networks Group, it was announced today by Peter Rice, Chairman of Entertainment, Fox Networks Group.?In this new role beginning June 2012, Dr. Beckman will provide his expertise and strategic insight in scheduling, programming and research across all FNG entertainment divisions, reporting directly to Rice.
EXCLUSIVE: TNT is re-entering the reality arena with The Great Escape, a new action adventure series from Oscar-winning filmmakers Brian Grazer and Ron Howard and Emmy-winning Amazing Race creators Bertram van Munster and Elise Doganieri. The show, which 
has been picked up for 10 episodes for summer premiere, will be hosted by Rich Eisen (NFL Total Access). The Great Escape puts teams of ordinary people in the middle of their own epic action/adventure movie. Players must work together to evade pursuers, overcome obstacles, solve puzzles and be the first to reach freedom to win a cash prize. The Great Escape is produced by Fox TV Studios, Imagine Entertainment, The Hochberg Ebersol Co., Profiles TV Prods. and executive produced by Imagine?s Ron Howard, Brian Grazer and Francie Calfo, Elise Doganieri, Bertram van Munster, Justin Hochberg and Charlie Ebersol. This marks TNT?s biggest foray into reality since the 2009 series Wedding Day, which was executive produced by Mark Burnett. The network has been ramping up unscripted development over the past year, with The Great Escape part of TNT?s development slate announced at the May upfront. 
EXCLUSIVE: Martin Campbell has been set to direct Umbra, the Endgame Entertainment-funded drama that Joe Carnahan has dropped out of. Paul Haggis, who came on to do rewrite work on the Campbell-directed Casino Royale, has also been brought on to do a rewrite on the drama about a business man who gets a mysterious package in the mail and gets caught up in a government conspiracy. Shooting will begin in the spring.
The troubled NBC network will be taking on more serious issues later in the day, but it kicked off its TCA sessions in Pasadena today with a breakfast with the ubiquitous Betty White, 89, who is adding to her work schedule on TV Land?s sitcom Hot In Cleveland by hosting and executive producing the new NBC reality show Betty White?s Off Their Rockers. The show is about the elder generation pulling pranks on unsuspecting members of the younger generation. It is adapted from the International Emmy-winning Belgium series Benidorm Bastards.
As usual, this popular member of TV?s least desirable demographic was full of quips, including this reply to a question about whether there?s anything the soon-to-be 90 actress still wants to do: ?I?m not going to say Robert Redford, as much as you might expect it.? The network will celebrate White?s birthday with the previously announced 90-minute special January 16, Betty White?s 90th Birthday: A Tribute To America?s Golden Girl, followed by a sneak peak of Off Their Rockers at 9:30 PM. (The network today announced that Ellen DeGeneres, Morgan Freeman, Tina Fey and Carl Reiner are among those who have been added to the birthday salute roster, joining Mary Tyler Moore, Ed Asner and White?s fellow Hot In Cleveland cast members.) 
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