Helicopter Avalanche Control Work, Telluride, CO

I suppose the helicopter dropped a timed-delay charge then stood off for the countdown. To be sure there are some sort of procedures to locate the satchel in the event of a dud. Otherwise there'd be UXO in the hills and even in the valleys if subsequent natural avalanches or man-made ones brought down the dud.

I like seeing the military 105 mm recoilless rifles fired from fixed positions at some of the Utah ski mountains. Well, one never saw them in action, but you'd sure hear them between around first light following an overnight powder dump.

Foy
 
Foy said:
I suppose the helicopter dropped a timed-delay charge then stood off for the countdown. To be sure there are some sort of procedures to locate the satchel in the event of a dud. Otherwise there'd be UXO in the hills and even in the valleys if subsequent natural avalanches or man-made ones brought down the dud.

I like seeing the military 105 mm recoilless rifles fired from fixed positions at some of the Utah ski mountains. Well, one never saw them in action, but you'd sure hear them between around first light following an overnight powder dump.

Foy
Click to expand...
Unexploded ordinance and the 105..........................oh my goodness stories starting popping to the surface. Yes, as you know every shot is documented and every effort is made - safely - to retrieve duds. When I attended National Avalanche School one of the instructors - from Utah and Cottonwood Canyon, Foy - told a great story about "helpful" backcountry travelers. The hero in the story is our USFS avalanche forecaster. Among his duties was overseeing the firing of artillery from the fixed positions onto USFS public lands. During the winter he lived in housing at the USFS ranger station. He said there was nothing like getting up early in the morning, carrying the mug of hot coffee outside to retrieve the newspaper, and almost stepping on an unexploded 105 round that someone has picked up, carried out in their backpack, and dropped off at the ranger station.
 
So do they attempt to fire into a fixed position to facilitate the retrieval of duds or does it change depending on conditions? I'm sure they'd appreciate the gps coordinates much more than a live round :eek:
 
The reference is made to fixed firing positions, Craig333. The first time I skied Snowbird, next door to Alta in Utah's Little Cottonwood Canyon, I was amazed and delighted to see fixed gun positions with 105mm recoilless rifles (covered by tarps most of the time, but exposed soon after firing if it's not snowing at the time) and to learn that the avalanche control guys (lucky them!) fired them routinely for avalanche control. This was January or February 1980. I never thought about the UXO (duds) at that time, but it turns out the Utah-based mineral exploration company which had SENT me to Snowbird for a Project Manager's meeting later morphed into an environmental geophysical services firm and they've been all over the world on UXO detection jobs.

Seems as though I've more recently seen the 105 RRs used by Alaska DOT at Atigun Pass along the Haul Road and by the Alaska Railroad guys along its route between Fairbanks and Anchorage. That's got to be a pretty fun day at the office.

Sheesh! A dud on your front door. Those recoilless rifles are big pieces of kit, and the shells are BIG and LONG. I can't imagine skiing while toting one of them!

Foy
 
Above roadways, the starting zones and avalanche paths are well documented. Coordinates for firing are preset and can be done day or night, storm or clear, with the highway closed of course. CalTrans stopped using military recoilless artillery several years ago after increasing problems with duds from old ordinance. Info on current methods for highway avalanche control can be found here -

Avalanche Control

The guns are now fired remotely from bunkers after a very tragic accident at Alpine Meadows years ago. The old protocol was to stand beside the gun. A round exploded in the barrel with catastrophic effect. This also prompted the move to a gun that fires with compressed air.

In regards to Telluride, the area has received over 95 inches of snow in January increasing the fear of a huge avalanche. It was thought best to take precautions and control the potential threat.
 
LuckyDan said:
Always liked the general party atmosphere of inter mountain Colorado. Cool place Telluride. Unfortunately I don't have enough MONEY to live there.

Thanks for sharing!
Click to expand...
Fixed it for you :)

Idaho uses helicopters to do some of their control. Snow science is pretty interesting stuff.
 
Foy said:
I suppose the helicopter dropped a timed-delay charge then stood off for the countdown. To be sure there are some sort of procedures to locate the satchel in the event of a dud. Otherwise there'd be UXO in the hills and even in the valleys if subsequent natural avalanches or man-made ones brought down the dud.

I like seeing the military 105 mm recoilless rifles fired from fixed positions at some of the Utah ski mountains. Well, one never saw them in action, but you'd sure hear them between around first light following an overnight powder dump.

Foy
Click to expand...

One of my old friends grew up in that area of Utah. He tells about when he was a tweener how the Utah Nat'l Guard used to do that work for the State Hwys Dept. As a favor to his dad he was there for what turned out to be the last one they fired in that endeavor. It had too much elevation, cleared the ridge, and blew up a unused barn. The whole thing was quietly hushed up and the practice discontinued.

I recall seeing the fixed locations on the Million Dollar Highway climbing up out Ouray.
 
Off topic, but along the lines of trying to find UXO (or similar), read "The Eye in the Sky". US surveillance cameras placed at the tops of peaks in the Himalayas, powered by small nuclear generators (carried by foot to the tops). They lost one, can still detect the specific radioisotopes in the Ganges.
 
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