Avalanches' Awesome Power

The search for victims is over in last week's Utah avalanche, but experts warn the danger of avalanche season is far from over.

Avalanches may look like soft and powdery snow, but their power can be awesome.

"With (a lot of) snow, when an avalanche hits, it creates massive, unsurvivable avalanches," says Chad Jacques, safety director of the Park City Ski Area in Utah, tells The Early Show national correspondent Hattie Kauffman.

Walls of snow can travel over 200 miles an hour, Kauffman says.

"They'll have what we call an air blast running in front of them," Jacques explains. "It's a powder cloud."

So, even if you're trying to get out of the way, it will mow you down. "Those air blasts can be so strong, they can lift people off their feet, and throw them up into trees."

In Utah, more people have already been killed in avalanches this winter than in any season since record-keeping began, Kauffman notes.

Tune in to The Early Show Friday for much more on these deady wonders of nature.