avalanches essays

avalanches essays Avalanches are massive downward and outward movements of snow and ice as well as soil and rocks. Three main factors that determine whether avalanches are likely to occur are the weather, the snowpack, and the terrain. The weather is the most important factor in determining if an avalanche will occur, but the other two factors need to be taken into consideration as well. Since ninety percent of all avalanches involve human subjects that trigger them, they are a major threat to life (McCafferty 38). Avalanches can leave death and destruction in their path and pose a great threat to the skiing industry. Most ski resorts in the western part of the United States try to prevent avalanches. They acquire specially trained personnel to toss grenade like explosives or shoot a bazooka like shell into the slope. The gun they use to shoot these projectiles is a 105-millimeter recoilless rifle (Cone 148). The explosives trigger the avalanche. They fire them into the mountain early in the morning so that the risk of having an avalanche during ski hours is lowered but even though they do this, it is not a definite that an avalanche could not happen. By studying the mountain the avalanche patrol learns where avalanches normally occur. These are called sweet spots. Avalanches often follow the same tracks year after year because they get funneled into the same valleys. In these areas, trees do not grow because they keep being removed by the avalanches. The shooting of these explosives is very successful and fortunately no one has ever been injured or killed (Goodwin 42). Avalanche experts offer these recommendations for skiers to follow so they can avoid or deal with avalanches. Their first rule is to know your terrain. Most avalanches occur on mountainsides where the slope is thirty degrees or greater. Secondly, do not ski alone. Only a few avalanche victims survive without help from others. Another recommendation is to know wha...

Productivity †Is It In You

Productivity – Is It In You The big deal these days, especially if you are in the romance arena, is to write very short books and write to market. You pen whatever is hot, pen it quickly, and sell it fast. For example, a bunch of writers are attempting to flood the market with short, clean, billionaire romance stories, offering them at a premium, publishing one a month or more. Then theyll use Fussy Librarian, FreeBooksy, and other sites (mini-Bookbub types of promo sites) in an attempt to accelerate interest and sales. Some authors are making serious bucks doing this. (So are all these sites!) I can see the logic and have spoken to authors who are living proof of its success, but Im not sure how long this method will work. Once upon a time, free ebooks were uncommon, but then suddenly everyone jumped on that train. The cost of ebooks dropped like a rock. Now it takes more than just offering a free book to snare readers. I mean, how many of these billionaire books can one person read? Dont get me wrong. Kudos to the folks making five- and six-figure incomes from this method, but these folks will change their marketing strategies as conditions change. They are smart entrepreneurs regardless of the methods used, and they morph with tools and concepts as they materialize. But right now, with so many people shooting out books like bullets, how long before the market is glutted? Even more so, how long can an author produce like that? (I wont get into quality of the writing, because that is so subjective; plus, some authors write faster than others.) For last years words belong to last years language. And next years words await another voice.  Ã‚  ~T.S. Eliot Writers were meant to produce words, with each book supposedly becoming easier. But you might want to be careful not to burn out using this method. Writing to market is SOOO tempting, believe me. It rambles around in my head, too, only with mysteries. Mark Dawson writes his John Milton suspense novellas fast and furious. The writer who wants to make good dough at this thing (even a living) realizes that the only â€Å"formula†Ã‚  is to keep producing quality work at a steady pace.  ~James Scott Bell Writing for a living is a two-part formula: Quality + Pace. Your quality must match the quality your readers expect, and you must find a pace that wont burn you out. Dont be sucked into what other authors are doing. Choose the quality and pace that suit  you best. After all, you need to be in this business for the long haul, not just through the fads.