Check out this video posted from Tūroa on Mt Ruapehu in New Zealand showing a huge controlled avalanche. The slide made it all the way from the top of the mountain to the lifts far below. While we have seen swelter temperatures in the Northern Hemisphere, New Zealand is coming off of a great week of fresh new snow.

In a Facebook post the resort explained the reason the slide was so large, and why it was necessary.

“Both Big Bowl and Why Not are incredibly fun parts of our ski area to ride and avalanche control work such as this helps make sure all our guests and staff remain safe, with smiles on their faces from a good days skiing.

One of the reasons the avalanche was of this magnitude is because a persistent weak layer was buried far down in the snow pack over two weeks ago due to the ongoing storms we’ve been getting. When first releasing the avalanche slab was in dry snow and was moving incredibly fast, as it traveled lower it began picking up wetter snow and became the slightly slower, heavier mass you see in this video.”

We’re always thankful for the measures that resorts take to keep us guest safe.

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