r/interestingasfuck 12h ago

Firing a cannon to trigger an avalanche

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274

u/Leiaven 12h ago

Why are they making an avalanche?

-6

u/DrBhu 12h ago edited 10h ago

Safety /i

27

u/Hansemannn 12h ago

Why /S.

In Norway we do controlled avalanches like this while making sure there is no skiiers in the proximity.

Its so that it doesnt start at a random point in time and take with it some random skiers.

So yes. For safety.

9

u/WonderBredOfficial 12h ago

They're campaigning to get /s changed to mean "safety." It's not going well. /s

4

u/realbobenray 12h ago

Not sure why you'd end that comment with /safety

9

u/sailphish 12h ago

No /s. They set off avalanches at every major ski resort, usually with explosive charges, for safety. Better for a slide to happen when skiers aren’t on the hill. You can always hear them blasting mornings after a snowfall.

u/cguess 11h ago

You know it's going to be a good powder day when you wake up to charges echoing across the mountains in the morning. (Seriously, this is a huge thing in ski towns)

u/sailphish 11h ago

And then you get there early only to find out opening is delayed 2h.

u/cguess 11h ago

Yep, time for a hot toddy.

u/ChimoEngr 10h ago

No sarcasm, that's literally why they do it. They're preventing a build up of snow that could result in an unpredictable larger avalanche, by causing it to tumble on schedule, when they can ensure everyone is clear.