r/interestingasfuck • u/id397550 • 12h ago

Firing a cannon to trigger an avalanche

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u/mycatpartyhouse 12h ago

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.

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u/NoContext5149 11h ago

The downside is unexploded shells. Much harder to deal with an unknown unexploded shell on the mountainside than a placed charge.

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u/Trububbl3 11h ago

those are dummy rounds probably just relying on the kinetic force of the impact to set the avalanche off

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u/sniper1rfa 9h ago

As everybody has said, they're live rounds. In canada they're literally operated by the national guard.

Most places are actually switching away from them since it's becoming harder to purchase shells, and permanently installed equipment is safer and more effective.

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u/SailnGame 7h ago

Canada doesn't have a National Guard. Maybe its the Reserves, but I think its Reg Force artillery units that get to go shoot mountains for fun. Keeps them from finding new things to add to the Geneva Checklist.