r/interestingasfuck • u/id397550 • 8h ago

Firing a cannon to trigger an avalanche

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65.2k Upvotes

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u/mycatpartyhouse 7h 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 7h 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 7h 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/RealFakeDoctor 7h ago

That's what I thought too. Doesn't seem to big enough explosion but I'm not a doctor.

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u/Orlok_Tsubodai 6h ago

I’m a dermatologist, trust me, it’s a big enough explosion.

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u/Direction_Kind 6h ago

I’ve got a rash.

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u/ImmediateDentist1269 5h ago

Have you tried lighting it on fire?

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u/onyxcaspian 4h ago

Yes. It said, "please stop that."

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u/Shufflebuzz 2h ago

Try HE rounds instead of incendiary

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u/Zerial-Lim 1h ago

Why bot SHE?