Controlled Slide
August 8, 2012
UDOT is installing avalanche control systems that can be activated remotely.
Two of the avalanche control systems are being installed in a known avalanche path called Valerie’s Slide in Little Cottonwood Canyon on the lower face of Mount Superior.
“It is unique in that it will allow us to initiate snow slides without artillery,” says Project Manager Steve Poulsen. The system is a better alternative than howitzer-fired or hand dropped shells since the slide area is adjacent to Snowbird Village and SR-210.
The visible part of the system is a downward-facing twelve foot long, two foot diameter tube. An underground oxygen and propane storage farm feeds the gases to exploders where the gases are mixed in preparation for firing. The units are then triggered by remote control producing a shock wave that moves through the tube. The resulting controlled slide prevents a bigger, potentially more destructive slide.
Two similar units have been in operation for two years. The new units are planned to be operable for this coming snow season. “Next year we plan to install 5 more units along other slide path starting zones in the Mt. Superior area that will further reduce the need to fire artillery over Snowbird village buildings,” says Poulsen.