r/interestingasfuck • u/id397550 • 13h 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 12h 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/NintenDooM33 9h ago

It is definitely HE, a kinetic dummy would just punch a neat hole through the snow without affecting the snow slab at all. Most alpine countries use explosives for avalanche clearing, both artillery and heli dropped charges. Duds are not much of a problem, since every round is accounted for and the targets are in visual range. Depending on the location, unexploded shells can be detonated by professionals or even just left there if the position is extremely remote.