Ophirica

Throughout history, avalanches have dramatically
changed the planet's pristine mountain slopes. The
sheer force generated by an avalanche easily uproots
trees, flattens buildings, buries highways, and kills
anything caught in its way. There were 184 reported deaths caused by avalanches worldwide in 2003, with over a third occurring in North America.

During the spring of 2004, filmmaker Judah Kuper documented these natural events in the San Juan Mountains of southwestern Colorado. A classic snowstorm blew in and pummelled the small mountain town of Ophir. Over the course of one single day, the mapped slide paths in the area displayed more avalanche activity than the locals had witnessed in more than a decade. The avalanches snapped a power line tower, closing down the three-mile road into town, and trapped residents. Kuper's film,
Out of Ophirica, chronicles the strength of avalanches as they rumble down valley slopes, destroying everything in their path.

"With natural slides blocking entry or exit to Ophir, Telluride Helitrax [a company that offers avalanche hazard consultation] was called in to knock down any more hanging snow and make it safe enough for the plows to start digging," explains Judah. "My house has a front-row seat to the action, so I set up the Barbi-cam and started rolling. Then I combined my footage with Joe Shulz's heli footage and started cutting."

Working with Telluride Helitrax, Kuper was able to capture close-up footage of both natural avalanches and avalanches created by bombing the loose snowpack directly below dangerous mountain peaks. Telluride Helitrax used pull-wire-ignition ammonium nitrate bombs - hand-tossed from the chopper - to trigger many of the avalanches caught on film.

"Fortunately, there were no avalanche deaths in the San Juan Mountains last year. In the film, the horse barn that was engulfed by one of the avalanches was the worst off," Judah says. "Skiers played it safe last year or were at least lucky enough to stay out of trouble. Hopefully, backcountry travellers who watch [the film] will gain even more respect and humility towards the powers of nature."

"This film was a ton of fun to make and so easy with the scenic views and massive power of nature," Judah continues. "I hope viewers take away a sense of humility and awe about the raw power of the earth which we are able to witness as the lucky living creatures we are."