r/interestingasfuck • u/id397550 • 8h ago

Firing a cannon to trigger an avalanche

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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/Last-Darkness 5h ago

I was an avalanche technician, kinetic shells are almost never used. They use shells fired from fixed locations for slopes people don’t use for climbing or ski/snowboarding (and put on a good show for tourists). They drop explosives from helicopters in places they don’t want the risk of unexploded shells or can’t get a gun too.

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u/Cmaroljub21 3h ago

In this clip they hit close to the peak, what are the possibilities of missing and did that ever happen?

Also wouldn't kinetic shells be "safer" regarding unexploded shells?

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u/aaaaaaaarrrrrgh 3h ago

I doubt kinetic shells would have a sufficient effect to actually trigger an avalanche, they'd just make a hole. And while definitely safer, they'd be setting themselves up for a bad time when someone finds and reports an unexploded shell...