Tuesday, January 01, 2013

Snow Fall: The Avalanche at Tunnel Creek - Multimedia Feature - NYTimes.com

This is a remarkable piece of reporting, making full use of pictures, video, graphics, and remarkable imagery, woven together in a gripping narrative.

It took six months of work, but the result is remarkable. It shows how storytelling remains the base of any good tale, but how technology, used wisely, can add a lot to the telling.

The best way to read this is on the New York Times website, so that you can get the full benefit.

Snow Fall: The Avalanche at Tunnel Creek - Multimedia Feature - NYTimes.com: ""

Saugstad was mummified. She was on her back, her head pointed downhill. Her goggles were off. Her nose ring had been ripped away. She felt the crushing weight of snow on her chest. She could not move her legs. One boot still had a ski attached to it. She could not lift her head because it was locked into the ice.

But she could see the sky. Her face was covered only with loose snow. Her hands, too, stuck out of the snow, one still covered by a pink mitten.
Using her hands like windshield wipers, she tried to flick snow away from her mouth. When she clawed at her chest and neck, the crumbs maddeningly slid back onto her face. She grew claustrophobic.

Breathe easy, she told herself. Do not panic. Help will come. She stared at the low, gray clouds. She had not noticed the noise as she hurtled down the mountain. Now, she was suddenly struck by the silence.


UPDATE - There's a Part Two to this story, about how the story was created.


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