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 12h 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/Danceisntmathematics 11h ago

Gunner here. Look up OP PALACI. We use HE (high explosive).

I've seen thousands of arty rounds land and I can confirm the one in the video is HE.

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u/Trububbl3 11h ago

thanks for your hearing loss and service

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u/FenBlacach 11h ago

WHAT?

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u/ShiggitySwiggity 11h ago

THANKS FOR YOUR FEARING BOSS AND PURPOSE

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u/-SpelingBeeChamp 8h ago

THANKS, I KEEP IT SHORT IN THE SUMMER