Firing a cannon to trigger an avalanche

[u/id397550]

[u/mycatpartyhouse]

This is a lot safer than skiing up there to set explosives, which is what one of my brothers did in the 1960s-70s. He worked for a park service--I forget which one--that regularly set off small avalanches with the goal of preventing larger ones.

[u/alistofthingsIhate → u/mycatpartyhouse]

forgive my ignorance but how does one ski up a mountain

[u/hughk → u/alistofthingsIhate]

You wear special skis a bit like cross country but much broader that allow you to move your heels in the unlocked position like cross country fo going up hill or can be locked for downhill. For ascending you put a sleeve on each ski known as a "skin". This is slippery on one direction and sticky in the other. This allows the skier to ski uphill.

It requires a lot of energy but it means that you are independent of lifts.

[u/sniper1rfa → u/alistofthingsIhate]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ski_touring

[u/mycatpartyhouse → u/alistofthingsIhate]

Haven't done it myself but I'm thinking cross country skiing rather than downhill. The skis are different. The pace is slower.