Howitzers and avalanches.
 

How cannons are used to fight avalanches

I worked one season at the Sky Tavern as a food service worker feeding the teens in the Junior Ski Program. Sky Tavern is on Slide Mountain. Sky Tavern Sky Tavern Junior Ski Program


I recall they used a cannon to start avalanches. Not sure what it fired. And probably not a howitzer.

This was probably in the winter of 1983.

About 40 years ago myself and a group of ski buddies used to go out west to Jackson Hole for a week of skiing for several consecutive years. We would stay in the very inexpensive ski hostile lodging at the base of the mountain and get woken up in the morning, after a good snow dumping, to the sound of the howitizer avalanche control blasting. We would jump out of bed, shake off the typical hangover, grab some breakfast, and get in line for the first tram of the day so we could carve out first tracks in the virgin fresh powder. Fond memories of the days when I still had the knees I was born with : )

Mountain Webcams - Mt. Rose Ski Tahoe

This is cool.

Trail Maps - Mt. Rose Ski Tahoe

Best Ski Resort Lake Tahoe | Palisades Tahoe

Used to be called Squaw Valley and site of the 1960 Winter Olympics.

I saw a History channel show on trains. They use a howitzer on a flat bed train car to break the avalanche loose and then plow the snow off the tracks.

I will have to look for that.