Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Avalanche Strikes in Colorado, Iraq: The Next Chapter, Army Apologizes to Families of Slain Soldiers

Aired January 06, 2007 - 16:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: An avalanche strikes an area already reeling from heavy snow falling within the past couple of weeks. Some cars are buried, others forced off the road just outside of Denver this morning.
We'll have a live report.

Plus, can truth serum break a serial murder case in India? It's a technique missing from headlines for decades.

And the candidates for the White House are off and running. Is it too early for the 2008 campaign?

A reality check today coming up.

Hello from the CNN headquarters in Atlanta. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. It is Saturday. It is the 6th of January.

We are following the following headlines, including this massive avalanche taking place in Colorado.

But first, "Now in the News," a military offensive in Baghdad. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki says Iraqi forces will take the lead in the push to secure the streets. Iraqi television now reporting that some 30 militants killed today in a firefight in the capital.

More on that in a moment.

The Army says it's sorry for a letter mistakenly mailed to dead and wounded officers. The name were included on a list the Army used to urge veterans back to active duty. The Pentagon is calling the families as well now.

Violence returns to the streets of Mogadishu, leaving at least two people dead. Hundreds of people took the streets after Somalia's new government ordered the population disarmed in the wake of the recent fall of the ruling Islamic militia.

And minister Louis Farrakhan has reportedly undergone some 12 hours of surgery for an undisclosed condition. Farrakhan underwent prostate surgery in the year 2000 and ceded control of the Nation of Islam last summer for health reasons.

First this hour, the Colorado avalanche. The massive crush of snow came crashing down on Interstate Highway 40, about 60 miles west of Denver. At this hour, emergency officials have rescued a number of motorists, and they are searching for others who may be trapped.

Phil Powers, executive director of American Alpine Club, is with us and on the phone.

And Phil, give me an idea of exactly how this search takes place, because I understand you've got Alpine search and rescue teams, you've got back country skiers there, and even the highway -- Department of Highway also has loaders and snow blowers involved in this search.

So how are Alpine search and rescue teams used?

PHIL POWERS, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, AMERICAN ALPINE CLUB: Well, they're probably manning a couple of different searches simultaneously. There would be people out on -- in the debris at the base of the avalanche with transceivers, trying to find any skiers or climbers that are buried under the snow as individuals. Simultaneously, they'll be manning what we call a course probe search as fast as possible, maybe at intervals of three to six feet, walking along in a -- in a line with avalanche probes or sticks that are very narrow and long that they can poke down into the snow feeling for buried vehicles.

WHITFIELD: So when we're talking about snow that may be at least 15 feet deep, and that's in addition to all the debris that's probably been, you know, churned as the avalanche has made its way down the hill, this sounds like a real painstaking task. And how long are these sticks that we're talking about in order to find a vehicle or a person?

POWERS: Well, they'd be about 15 or 20 feet long. So they are kind of at their limit in this particular avalanche since it's so large.

Optimistically, however, most things float in avalanches. Probably even cars that are pushed off the road. Not going to be at the base of the avalanche, but up in the snow pack somewhere.

WHITFIELD: And how concerned are you that daylight might be an issue as well?

POWERS: Daylight? I think it's relatively early in the day, and they've got a lot of time to work right now.

WHITFIELD: Really? Because it sounds like when you're dealing with this amount of snow and this wide of an area where they are searching, it would seem that this would take many, many, many hours. And you're at midday there.

POWERS: It will take hours to do the probe searches, certainly. But they've got those hours. They've got plenty of daylight.

And you'd be surprised at how -- how well these search and rescue teams launch themselves. They'll get people up there in no time to man this search.

With regard to a search for an individual skier, they are pressed for time, but it's not daylight they are worried about. It's simple time. Because an individual skier is not going to have a pocket of air down there to breathe, and they've only got a matter of -- we're probably already well into a time during which we'd be extremely worried and it would be unlikely that someone could survive the avalanche.

WHITFIELD: Phil Powers, thanks so much for your expertise.

Our Bonnie Schneider is in the weather center.

And I imagine, Bonnie, blowing snow and the temperatures are also factors when you are talking about rescue missions like this.

BONNIE SCHNEIDER, CNN METEOROLOGIST: That's true.

(WEATHER REPORT)

WHITFIELD: All right. Bonnie Schneider, thanks so much.

Also on the phone with us right now, out of Boulder, Spencer Logan of the Colorado Avalanche Information Center.

And Mr. Logan, you and I spoke earlier and you talked about knowing of a pretty high chance of avalanche activity. And the wind might be in part to blame, right?

SPENCER LOGAN, COLORADO AVALANCHE INFORMATION CENTER: Exactly. You know, this last storm fell with very light soft snow. It made for really good skiing, but it also means it gets blown around very easily.

WHITFIELD: Now, when we talk about the kind of avalanche activity that this part of Colorado is used to, I understand two to three feet would be a little bit more normal, particularly in the Berthoud Pass area. But 15 feet? That's very significant. And due, in part, because of all the snowfall you've gotten in the past couple of weeks.

LOGAN: Yes. Although it sounds like this avalanche was mostly new snow where it started. And then as it moved down the avalanche path, it probably picked up more of the snow. So our forecasters on scene were saying that where the avalanche broke it was only four to five feet deep.

WHITFIELD: I see. So you also have some teams helping out, right?

LOGAN: Yes. We had forecasters who were actually in the field teaching an avalanche class for a search and rescue organization.

WHITFIELD: Oh, really?

LOGAN: So they were able to respond very rapidly.

WHITFIELD: OK. So, now what are your concerns about the ongoing search efforts right now as they continue to look for any other vehicles that could be pushed or could have been buried by this snow?

LOGAN: Well, the first rule of searching is never create another victim. So the searchers are taking very great care to make sure that there will not be a second avalanche.

They probably have people watching the area...

WHITFIELD: I think we just lost our connection there with Spencer Logan. If we're able to, we'll try to resume this conversation another time. He's with the Colorado Avalanche Information Center.

It will be interesting to know what the chances might be for a second avalanche, as he was about to explain. We'll try to reconnect with him.

Meantime, we're going to check again on this situation, still fluid. Search efforts still under way.

That's straight ahead.

Plus this...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JOHN BOEHNER (R), MINORITY LEADER: ... Nancy Pelosi.

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: ... a new speaker of the House. Now what?

And heard about the one about the early bird and the worm? Everybody's heard that. We'll find out if it's true in politics. A reality check on the race for the White House.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: And more now on our top story, the urgent search effort on a highway outside Denver, Colorado. A huge avalanche there has buried at least two cars and forced other vehicles possibly off the road. Seven people have been rescued and taken to area hospitals.

The avalanche hit near the Berthoud Pass area. That's the main route to the popular ski town of Winter Park. The road is now shut down while the search efforts are under way.

We're following this story very closely and will update you as more information becomes available.

Within the past two hours, Iraqi state television began reporting that 30 insurgents were killed today in a battle in central Baghdad with Iraqi government soldiers. And just this morning, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki announced Iraqi armed forces will take the lead in a military push in the capital. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NOURI AL-MALIKI, IRAQI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): Protecting the people should be the Iraqi armed forces responsibility, and the weapons must be only in the hands of our armed forces. And we will not permit anyone to act as a replacement to the sovereign government, such as militias, and we will fight them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: That announcement came just days ahead of President Bush's expected unveiling of a plan to send thousands more troops to Iraq. The new Democratic leaders on Capitol hill are warning Mr. Bush against that. And so are some Republicans.

With the latest from the White House, CNN's Elaine Quijano.

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fredricka, lawmakers from both parties are expressing concern that any additional U.S. forces in Iraq should have a clearly defined mission. But it is, of course, Democrats who are expressing that concern most vocally, even though President Bush has not even announced his decision just yet.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

QUIJANO (voice over): With Democrats now in control of Congress, President Bush, in his weekly radio address, stressed cooperation on domestic issues. But he steered clear of Iraq.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm confident that we can find common ground in our efforts to serve our fellow citizens and to move our country forward.

QUIJANO: Saturday morning, the president huddled with top members of his national security team. Among those spotted at the White House, the outgoing director of National Intelligence, John Negroponte; Defense Secretary Robert Gates; and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Though a National Security Council spokesman described the meeting as part of regular and ongoing discussions, it came just days before the president is expected to unveil his new Iraq policy.

It also came amid new political pressure from Democratic leaders in Congress. For the second day in a row, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid launched a preemptive strike, arguing against the most talked about option the president is considering, a temporary surge of thousands of U.S. forces.

SEN. HARRY REID (D-NV), MAJORITY LEADER: Based on the advice of current and former military leaders, we believe this tactic would be a serious mistake. These military professionals tell us there is no purely military solution in Iraq. There is only a political solution in Iraq.

QUIJANO: White House Press Secretary Tony Snow acknowledged the Democrats' opposition to a surge, but he also challenged Democrats to offer other ideas.

TONY SNOW, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: We not only want to hear what they have to say, but if they have alternative plans and views, we're interested in hearing that as well.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

QUIJANO: As for a time frame on an Iraq announcement, that's expected to come in the form of a primetime presidential address to the nation Wednesday or Thursday -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Elaine, thanks so much.

And at the bottom of the hour, a closer look at the evolving chain of command in Iraq. We'll examine the record of David Petraeus, President Bush's choice to replace George Casey as America's top general in the war.

Military officials are red-faced over a major mistake. The Army is apologizing to nearly 300 military families for urging their dead or wounded soldiers to re-enlist.

Gary Nurenberg has details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARY NURENBERG, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Claiming frustration and disappoint, the Army issued a formal statement of apology Saturday. Its vice chief of staff, Richard Cody, saying, "Every Army leader is just sick this happened."

Gina Cavallaro is covering the story for "The Army Times," an independent paper and Web site.

GINA CAVALLARO, "ARMY TIMES": The Army is very upset about this. They know they made a huge mistake. It's embarrassing for them. And they are going to do as much damage control as they can.

NURENBERG: General Cody says, "This is an inexcusable mistake. Five years into this war, the Army can do better than this -- and we will."

The Army statement says casualty assistance officers are this weekend contacting families to personally apologize.

CAVALLARO: They are in overdrive trying to not so much explain it to the public, but to get to those families who were hurt by these letters.

NURENBERG: The appeal for officers, particularly experienced officers to return, points to a real need.

CAVALLARO: They might need them for any number of positions in the Army, including filling these advisory teams that they are sending over to Iraq and Afghanistan to train those security forces over there. So it doesn't surprise me that they were looking for people who might want to come out of retirement.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NURENBERG: The Army says a single soldier simply pushed the wrong button, using a master list that included the names of 75 officers who had been killed and another 200 who had been wounded, instead of the list from which those names had been removed.

In addition to those casualty assistance teams reaching out to the families this weekend, the Army says senior leaders also plan to write them personally with apologies and to let them know, in the Army's words, "The Army is still a family made strong by caring leadership and strong Army families." The Army also says the database problem, Fredricka, has now been corrected.

WHITFIELD: All right. Well, that's the good news. Thanks so much, Gary.

Well, take a look at this. This baby was the first one born in the new year in New York. She won the content but lost the prize.

Why? That is straight ahead.

And a new leader in the House. What are the expectations for this history-making woman, Nancy Pelosi?

And this man will be leading U.S. forces in Iraq. Just who is General David Petraeus? His profile coming up next.

You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: We continue to watch the developments outside of Colorado, just west of Denver. You are looking at highway picture shots, but you're not going to see this kind of activity on Highway 40, west of Denver. That's because Highway 40 is closed because of a massive avalanche that took place earlier today about 12:30 East Coast Time, 10:30 Colorado time.

And after this avalanche occurred, at least two vehicles were buried by the snow, which has been measured from about 100 feet wide to 15 feet deep. And now search efforts are under way.

At least seven people were rescued. That's good news. Many of them were treated at nearby hospitals. But the search efforts continue just to make sure no other vehicles may have been pushed off the highway or buried from that massive avalanche.

Dale Atkins knows a whole lot about avalanche activity there in Colorado and elsewhere. He's on the phone with us now. He is an avalanche safety consultant.

And Dale, update me on this. I understand that you did go to the avalanche area after it had occurred and you just happened to be teaching an avalanche class as well today? What were your observations?

DALE ATKINS, AVALANCHE SAFETY CONSULTANT: Correct. Doing a train with the Alpine Rescue Team out of Evergreen. And we were on nearby Berthoud Pass when the avalanche happened about 10:30, as you said, our time. And fortunately, we were able to quickly respond, and we were on scene within 15 to 20 minutes. And this was a very large avalanche.

WHITFIELD: Really? Yes, pretty -- pretty large, even by your standards of what you are used to?

ATKINS: It's certainly a good size. This avalanche path -- well, this avalanche, just to reach the highway, it will run almost 2,000 vertical feet. Just to get down to the roadway.

WHITFIELD: Wow.

ATKINS: And it did that. And as you pointed out, debris up to 15 feet deep. And it covered a lot of the roadway.

WHITFIELD: So then how concerned are you about all the right machinery or technology or teams in order to get to this area to carry out this intense search for anyone else who might be in trouble?

ATKINS: Well, I think we are able to do a good job of searching the debris, and we're very confident that no one else is in it. And we were able to do this because we had people with the rescue group and just people on their way skiing that were able to volunteer and help -- and the Clear Creek (ph) ambulance crew.

WHITFIELD: So why your so confident? What were you able to observe or discover, or uncover to make you feel confident that nobody else is buried?

ATKINS: Absolutely. We were able to use a couple of types of technology.

We were able to use a magnetometer that measures the magnetic field. So it would be looking for a vehicle. It's a very fancy metal detector, in essence.

We had that, and we also had a system called Reco (ph) that can pick up electronic devices in cars. So we were able to search the debris very fast. And we feel pretty good that no one is in it.

WHITFIELD: Would you ever be concerned that any kind of back country skiers may have been in that area and caught up in the avalanche which also ended up involving vehicular traffic?

ATKINS: Absolutely. That's a real potential in this area. But this avalanche path is quite a ways away from where most of the people ski and snowboard in the back country. It's a pretty big effort to get to it.

WHITFIELD: OK. And so this highway is going to be closed for the day. And the search effort will continue for many, many hours to come.

What are your concerns about any other potential avalanche activity in the area since we're dealing with, you know, snowfall over the past couple of weeks that is well into, you know, four to seven feet in some areas?

ATKINS: We've had a lot of snow. And we've got more snow coming tonight. Not a lot, but the big problem is going to be wind.

It's going to continue to drift snow into avalanche starting zones. So while this avalanche path, most of the snow ran in it. We're not too worried about it. But the weather situation is such we're going to see the avalanche danger increasing on all of the similar sorts of slopes.

WHITFIELD: Oh, really? So a lot of the slopes in the area need to be alerting their skiers of the potential of any kind of avalanche activity? We're not just talking about vehicular traffic that is going through these passes. But even skiers might be vulnerable to avalanches.

ATKINS: Sure. But we have to really point out it's the back country skiers. The folks that are going to the ski areas, they can see there and have a great time because the ski patrols do a terrific job to make the experience safe.

But in the back country, it's the Wild West. And people have to be really careful. And probably a good idea to stay off of any of steep wind-loaded slopes here in the front range of Colorado.

WHITFIELD: Dale Atkins of the Avalanche Information Center.

We really appreciate your very helpful information. Thanks so much. And be safe out there, as I know that you continue to be involved in helping to guide those searchers out there.

ATKINS: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: And we'll have much more on this massive avalanche taking place outside of Denver, just about 20 miles outside of Winter Park, a very popular ski resort area. We're going to stay on this story.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: ... with Colorado Department of Transportation is on the line with us. You are the spokesperson or a spokesperson, Mr. Wilson. We just heard from one traveler who said that it was bumper to bumper on U.S. 40 when they were turned away after the avalanche. What can you tell us?

BOB WILSON, COLO. DEPT. OF TRANSPORTATION: Yes, well, it would be bumper to bumper because we have closed the roadway down. And U.S. 40, which is the road over Berthoud Pass, is going to remain closed between Winter Park and Interstate 70 for the foreseeable future.

Right now, we've had several cars that were buried by this avalanche that was about 200 feet wide and 15 feet deep. And the crews are saying that's the largest avalanche slide that they've ever seen in those areas. It went down three chutes of what's knows as the Stanley Slide on the east side of Berthoud Pass.

WHITFIELD: When you say several vehicles, can you give me an idea about numbers? Because earlier we were reporting at least two. It sounds to me like you know of more.

WILSON: Actually, I don't. I mean, it was at least two. I haven't heard of more. I know there's been about seven people that have been transported to the hospital. It's not a flight -- fight for life situation. They've been transported via ambulance. But I don't know -- there may be more. We're continuing to do probes through the avalanche area to make sure there are no more vehicles in that area. But we're hoping that we've gotten everybody out of there that were caught.

WHITFIELD: At what point will you think you're pretty certain about other vehicles not being in danger?

WILSON: Well, once we get through all that entire area...

WHITFIELD: How long does that take?

WILSON: Well, it all depends. You know, we were talking about snow that's 15 feet deep and 200 feet wide. I mean, they're doing it as quickly as possible. But in those kinds of conditions, when you are talking about deep snow it takes some time. But you can get through them fairly fast.

WHITFIELD: So, I'm wondering, you know, how many snow movers and blowers do you use to try to move 200 feet wide of snow and 15 feet deep? What do you have out there?

WILSON: Well, as many as necessary. We've got maintenance facilities that are real close by to there. It's not in like what you would call a desolate area from our maintenance crews. Since it is a mountain pass over the Continental Divide, we have maintenance crews that are located very close to there. So we have several vehicles out there, plows and a lot of maintenance personnel out there working.

WHITFIELD: And what about personnel, whether they be on skis or whether they are doing manual searches, you know, on their own without the kind of heavy snow-moving equipment involved?

WILSON: I'm sorry. You cut out just for a second there. What was the question?

WHITFIELD: Would you end up having a lot of rescuers on foot doing real manual searches who are not using some of that heavy snow- moving equipment? WILSON: Yes. They're going to -- you would have both people that would be doing work manually and people using heavy equipment. So it's, you know, a combined effort.

WHITFIELD: You're going to be keeping Highway 40 closed throughout the day. What can you tell a lot of folks who are traveling in the area? What other routes are there to take? Or are you concerned about any other potential avalanches on other highways?

WILSON: Well, that's always a hazard at this time of year, especially with all the heavy snow that we've got. We do shoot these slides on a regular basis and this one was shot recently, on Tuesday. But, you know, it's always a hazard to traveling in the mountains in Colorado. But, like, the alternate route that you'd be dealing with to get around the Berthoud Pass closure would not go through an active slide area. And that would be going through the Dylan-Silver Thorn (ph) area and then taking Highway 9 up to Kremmling (ph) and the U.S. Highway 40 back down and around into the Winter Park, Grand County area.

WHITFIELD: Bob Wilson, spokesperson with CDOT.

Thanks so much for your time and best of luck on your efforts there.

WILSON: You're welcome.

WHITFIELD: Spencer Logan (ph) -- all right.

Let's check in with Bonnie Schneider in the Weather Center, where the wind a big concern.

Now, I talked with one person a moment ago with the Avalanche Information Center. He said in some areas they are concerned about possible snowfall. Should they be?

BONNIE SCHNEIDER, CNN METEOROLOGIST: OK. That's true. And there is the potential for snowfall. And we're going to talk about that in a moment.

But we have some new aerials that are just coming in now of what the scene looks like. Let's take a look.

And you can see as we take a look at the Berthoud Pass area plenty of snow. And there, right there in the center of the screen that's the pile of snow as the camera zooms in on the region. Actually, it's two piles covering the roadways, a tremendous amount of snow.

And once again you can see the various heights, Fredricka, as we look at these pictures that are just coming into us now of the snow. And a lot of that is caused by the strong winds, winds gusting as high as 40 miles per hour at the time.

WHITFIELD: That's really significant. And this is the first time we're able to see, you know, what we're talking about when we hear these search teams talk about the amount of snow that has covered that pass and why they've had to close it off. This is pretty remarkable. They mention that they were talking about between 100 and 200 feet wide of snow and 15 feet deep but, you know, when we look at this aerial view, Bonnie, in some portions it almost looks like more than 15 feet, doesn't it? But...

SCHNEIDER: It does.

WHITFIELD: ... I guess it's not fair to estimate from here. You know, I'm no expert. But...

SCHNEIDER: That's true.

WHITFIELD: ... but, you know, we're talking about mounds of snow in addition to the debris pile-up that ends up being part of this big snowball effect.

SCHNEIDER: Absolutely. And that's what happens because there's three zones of an avalanche. A starting zone, the track, the starting zone at the top of the mountain, the track alongside of the mountain and then run-off, which is what you see here. That's everything that gets picked up is its wake as that snow tumbles down the mountain. It may start out as a tiny bit of snow, but then it builds and grows as it comes down the mountain. And that's why we're seeing these incredible pictures that are coming in just now.

WHITFIELD: Yes. And this, too, is why the search effort so massive, too, Bonnie, because, you know, we're looking at these mounds of snow on the road. But this snow also pushes vehicles, as we've heard so many experts say, pushes vehicles off the road. And that's why you've got back country skiers, you've got alpine skiers, all of them who are the area on foot and on skis trying it make sure on the downside of this pile-up of snow that no one is in danger, no one's been pushed over the roadway from this snow.

SCHNEIDER: And, Fredricka, over the past three weeks we've seen over 40 inches of snow for this region. That is a tremendous amount of snow. And you have to remember at the higher elevations it's even more than that. So when you have the sun shining during the day it kind of loosens things a little, it was a little melting happening, and then those gusty winds that are coming in. And sustained right now, the wind's at 25 miles per hour with gusts stronger than that.

WHITFIELD: Bonnie, that's amazing. Thanks so much.

Now, we're talking about the view from here, from the comfort of our homes by looking at these aerial images that are coming from our affiliate KMGH.

Well, what about actually being on that road, like Chauncey Tanton was? He's on the phone with us now.

And Chauncey, give me an idea about where were you on I-40 and how close to this avalanche area were you?

CHAUNCEY TANTON, SNOWBOARDER: Basically, we had been driving up the pass that morning to go snowboarding up on top of Berthoud Pass and had come to a standstill. And in front of us, we were probably the 20th or 30th car up to the pass. And across the road all we could see was I'd say a seven to ten-foot debris field crossing the road.

WHITFIELD: Really? And your heart must have stopped at that moment.

TANTON: We felt incredibly lucky at point. I had actually been stuck in an avalanche as a younger man, and it's a very serious situation. And to see it again, up close and personal, especially just narrowly escaping it, as I think we might have done, it was a pretty intense.

WHITFIELD: And describe for me, since you have been in one before, you know, how quickly, you know -- is the ground moving? Is the snow moving when you are caught up in an avalanche?

TANTON: They can move upwards of I think even 100 miles an hour depending on the pitch of the slope. But they can move very, very, very rapidly.

WHITFIELD: So, just so I'm clear on this, you were on 40 and you're saying at the time that you saw this snow coming down, was it at the tail end of this avalanche?

TANTON: At the point where we approached, where we came to a standstill, the debris field was stopped. It was motionless. So we did not see the actual avalanche occurring, although the amount of time that that would take up is so minimal that, I mean, you'd have to be there within seconds to see it. They move that quickly.

WHITFIELD: And so, at that moment are your instincts to get out of the car and try to help? Or is it stay in the car because you don't know what is about to happen next? Tell me about your instincts. What were you feeling?

TANTON: Well, at that point we stayed in the car. I think, you know, you don't really know what happened, if it had happened an hour before or a half an hour before. There were rescue teams there already. It was a calm atmosphere, I think one of bewilderment. But most people stayed in their cars. And then shortly after that, we were redirected to turn around and head back down the pass. I think they wanted to get everybody off of that pass as quickly as possible so that...

WHITFIELD: And would you describe it at that point for you that it was gridlock or bumper to bumper? Were there a lot of cars on the road at the time?

TANTON: Absolutely. This entire day has been traffic jams. I think anybody coming up from Denver this morning will know that. I think everybody was heading up to the mountains this morning to go snowboarding or skiing. And it was bumper to bumper from Denver all the way up, I'm assuming, over even Loveland Pass.

WHITFIELD: OK. Chauncey Tanton, thanks for your time and glad that you escaped danger.

Also on the live with us out of Colorado, Phil Powers, executive director of American Alpine Club.

And, Phil, you were describing earlier how some of your alpine teams are involved in this search. What's the latest?

PHIL POWERS, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, AMERICAN ALPINE CLUB: Well, I'm not up on the search at all and I don't -- I'm not directly involved. I can see here on the television the avalanche path itself, if you'd like to learn a little bit about that.

WHITFIELD: Yes, why don't you tell me a little bit about that. Sorry, I confused you with another guest that we had who was talking specifically about their teams on the ground there.

So what -- you know, how do we make sense of what has happened here? We heard from Chauncey just a moment ago describe what he saw, you know, coming up on this avalanche in the path of 40 just minutes after it happened.

POWERS: Right. You know, obviously, these things move extremely fast. But as you can see, intermittently in the view from the camera, from your helicopter, that this avalanche effectively came down three tracks. It has a big starting zone well up above tree line, high on the mountain. And I would imagine that that starting zone is hundreds of feet wide. It sounds like the crown of the avalanche was a deep one. We don't know for sure exactly how deep the crown was, which is the starting base of the avalanche where it breaks away from the snow above. And then there's hundreds of feet of width and many feet of depth of snow is funneled into these tracks that go through the trees or gullies. And the snow then, of course, is much, much deeper and more powerful as it comes together like water going through the narrows in a river. Then when it hits the road, the road is a flat spot and that's what slows the avalanche down and causes it to deposit. These deposition zones, the base of the avalanche, are where people get buried.

WHITFIELD: Phil Powers, thanks so much for your time and your expertise.

POWERS: OK. You're welcome.

WHITFIELD: We're going to continue to watch the developments taking place out of Colorado out of this avalanche.

Plus, out of Washington, D.C., it was a historic moment for the country, for politics, for women. She calls it breaking the marble ceiling. Up next in the NEWSROOM, different opinions on what Nancy Pelosi brings to the house.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. We're following the avalanche taking place out of Colorado just west of Denver. And these are new images right. You're looking at a still photo coming from KMGH's website, Pete Farrigan (ph). And this is what happens when you've got 100 feet by 15 feet depth of snow come crashing down on a highway, burying vehicles just like it did that one. Perhaps that's one of the two vehicles that officials have spoken about earlier as being buried by this avalanche. At least seven people have been rescued, many of whom are being treated at nearby hospitals.

And now search teams are on the ground, everyone from alpine search and rescue teams to back country skiers, loaders and also snow blowers in the area to try to look for anyone else who may potentially be buried by that massive avalanche.

We're continuing to watch that story out of Colorado.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTFIED FEMALE: Therefore, the Honorable Nancy Pelosi of the state of California is duly elected speaker of the House of Representatives for the 110th Congress, having received the majority of the votes cast.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And now taking Washington by storm, Nancy Pelosi takes the gavel and makes history, taking charge of the House of Representatives. As the first female speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi is the highest ranking woman in our nation's history. But what does her ascension mean?

Gloria Feldt, the former president of Planned Parenthood, is live, joining us from New York.

And in Washington -- hello to you -- and in Washington, conservative radio commentator Blanquita Cullum from Radio America.

Good to see you as well.

Good to see you both. And happy New Year.

What a way to begin the new year, already all this analysis and the new speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, has only been in charge now for a couple of days. So based on what you know about her political and personal interests, what kind of speaker should we be expecting, Blanquita?

BLANQUITA CULLUM, RADIO AMERICA: Well, you know Washington is a real tough town. And it's kind of...

WHITFIELD: That's an understatement.

CULLUM: An understatement. So, right now everyone is heralding the fact that she's the first woman. OK. Now people are getting sick. Can we get over that? We're not looking at her gender. We're looking at her agenda. And it's going to be an interesting time for anyone to be speaker of the House because we're getting close to the 2008 election. You've got problems she may potentially have with people that she owed favors to that she turned her back on, people like Jane Harman. She had problems with John Murtha. She's got a whole other segment that she's going to demand support from.

WHITFIELD: But wouldn't that be anybody -- that would be anybody who gets that position who passes over one candidate over another. But the difference is because she is a trailblazer.

(CROSSTALK)

CULLUM: She's got -- I don't know that it's a trailblazer. She's got a job, OK? She's got a job. And the thing of it is in Washington, they're not going to give her points for getting things passed because she's the girl. They're going to give her points because she's a leader. So she's going to have to be able to have strong loyalty, pull things together. And she shouldn't brag too much because even on my side we saw what happened when people got too cocky, guys like Newt Gingrich...

WHITFIELD: But wait a minute. Gloria, let me ask you. OK. She's going to get strong points because she's a good leader. But at the same time, nobody is overlooking the fact that there's a bigger microscope, perhaps, on her simply because she is the trailblazer of the first woman who is the speaker of the House. And so is that fair that she would be scrutinized or held to perhaps a higher standard simply because she has got that label? She's got a lot on her shoulders as a result of?

GLORIA FELDT, FMR, PRES., PLANNED PARENTHOOD: I see it as both a tremendous honor and a tremendous opportunity. I just want us to take just a minute and look at the three of us.

Fredricka, here you are, an anchor. When I was a young woman, I couldn't have aspired to that position at all. You're interviewing two women who are political experts in different ways on different sides of the fence.

We're talking about the first woman speaker of the United States House of Representatives, who is now second in line of succession to the presidency. This is a huge watershed moment and we should honor it and recognize it.

But you know, leadership is the creation of meaning. And I think that picture that we saw of Nancy Pelosi holding up her gavel, surrounded by children said more than all the rhetoric in the newspapers could possibly say...

CULLUM: Well, I kind of have to say this, though. Look, you know, the fact of the matter that we've got tremendous talent, Fredricka, and yourself as a matter of fact. I mean, you and I don't agree but I'm happy you're where you are.

The fact of the matter is that our daughters and our granddaughters are going to look at this and they're going to maybe forget the struggle. That's the point of success. And if we constantly have to look at women like Nancy Pelosi, Condoleezza Rice, Margaret Thatcher, Jean Kirkpatrick and say, "They got there, aren't they great women?" really kind of denigrates their talent. It denigrates their ability because it wasn't just women that went to vote for Nancy Pelosi. It wasn't just minorities. It was a cross section...

WHITFIELD: So perhaps what this is doing is this is conditioning people to also look at her position as something else. It means inclusion, perhaps. It means that, you know, women or other people who stick out as being perhaps the first to do whatever...

CULLUM: It means equality.

WHITFIELD: ... it means she got there on merit. And I think anyone...

CULLUM: Exactly.

WHITFIELD: ... looking -- I haven't heard anybody say that she got there simply because she's a woman. She got there on merit...

(CROSSTALK)

CULLUM: Are you there because you're a talent?

FELDT: If I may jump in for a moment, please, here, I think that part of the symbolism of her leadership and of having a woman in that role is that if you look at who the rest of the current leadership of the committees will be now in the 110th Congress, it is an infinitely more diverse, not just gender, but also ethnically -- ethnicity -- in terms of ethnicity. And it's -- this is a truly wonderfully diverse group. And that is the watershed moment for America...

CULLUM: But look.

FELDT: ... It's a moment for advancement of social justice.

(CROSSTALK)

CULLUM: I'm a Hispanic woman. I don't really care. I just want the person to do the job. If they are diverse, great. But I don't care if they are diverse. I want the leader to do a great job and the minority leaders to do a good job. I think that's what America needs, not so much diversity, but quality and the ability. And we're not going to look at color or their gender if they're capable.

WHITFIELD: All right.

FELDT: There are plenty capable people who fit the diversity mold. That's the point and that is America. And that's the greatness of our country.

WHITFIELD: All right. Thank you, ladies. I appreciate it.

Blanquita Cullum and Gloria Feldt, for a spirited conversation.

FELDT: Thank you, Fredricka.

CULLUM: Thank you both.

WHITFIELD: and, of course, we're continuing to watch what's going on in Colorado with this massive avalanche. Rick Sanchez will be carrying the baton to continue to look at how this happened, the search effort that's underway. We're not calling it a rescue effort because they are really looking to see if there is anybody else whose life is in jeopardy as a result of all of this snow coming down just west of Denver.

RICK SANCHEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: By the way, that was a great segment you just did.

WHITFIELD: Yes, we wish we had more time.

SANCHEZ: How did you feel about -- that was a great segment. I feel like...

WHITFIELD: Well, we had some great guests. It's a great topic and...

SANCHEZ: You should bring them back.

WHITFIELD: ... folks are feeling really excited about something else to talk about when it involves politics.

SANCHEZ: Two things. First of all, I can't forget when I was out there not long ago in Colorado and they took me to a place called the Seven Sisters. The Seven Sisters is a place where you literally have paths coming down the side of a mountain. It's more (INAUDIBLE) than any other place -- that's me trying to survive one night in a car. Not fun.

WHITFIELD: Does that say hell on the car?

SANCHEZ: Help.

WHITFIELD: Oh, no. Help. OK. I was going to say. Rick, oh my God.

SANCHEZ: Why am I writing hell on there?

No. The first three letters, yes.

But the whole idea was getting out there. We're going to take a break now. I suppose we'll come right back.

WHITFIELD: All right. Lots more ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: And here's the breaking news. It's a main route to one of Colorado's largest ski areas. It's closed right now after a massive avalanche. Seven people had to be pulled from two different cars that were literally buried in the snow. Rescue workers are on the scene now. They're trying to see if possibly anybody else is trapped. We're going to certainly have more on the story throughout the hour. There you're looking at some of the pictures, by the way.

We're going to get to that in just a bit and really give you complete coverage of it.

But let's bring you up to date on what's going on in Ira, too. Iraq's prime minister is announcing a plan to, quote, "hunt down all outlaws in Baghdad." those are his words. Nouri al-Maliki says his forces will lead a new effort to try and take control of the city's neighborhoods from militias. U.S. troops will help.

A close call today for the head of Baghdad's emergency police. He narrowly escaped injury when his convoy was targeted for a car bomb. Also at the capitol, 71 bodies were found dumped near a cemetery.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.voxant.com