“For 75 years, the silent hours of deep, snowy mornings at Alta Ski Area were ruptured by the reverberation of heavy artillery echoing off the surrounding granite crags. Since 1949, weapons of war have been an invaluable tool in combating the ever-looming threat of destructive avalanches in Little Cottonwood Canyon.“
The coolest people in the world of winter sports are almost definitely the avalanche mitigation. They travel the mountains, predict where dangers lurk, and work to remove those dangers, often with the help of explosives. They’re basically what every young child wishes they could be.
The coolest of the avalanche mitigators, though, are the ones that get to use howitzers and other military artillery. Over the past 75 years in Alta, over 33,000 rounds of ammunition have been launched at the mountains, causing slides and protecting the visitors and employees around the resort and town. Unfortunately for the history fans, Alta will no longer use the enormous artillery to conduct avalanche mitigation beginning in 2024.
“It is no longer state of the art to be using Second World War military artillery for avalanche mitigation. There are safer and more effective methods now. It’s been a wonderful, wonderful, wonderful tool for a long time, and I’m gonna miss it.” – Dave Richards
Alta will continue to use remote techniques, including avalaunchers, and ski patrollers on the mountain to mitigate the avalanche threat throughout the town, but the artillery will be put away for good. It’s sad, but inevitable. Ski Utah has put together this amazing short documentary on the history of military artillery in Alta to commemorate the change, and we definitely recommend watching it.
“Drop into the story of Alta’s pioneering artillery program from infancy to its conclusion in 2023. These massive artillery pieces, recruited for a peaceful purpose, now face retirement as Alta presses ahead to the forefront of the latest technological advancements in avalanche mitigation.“
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Image Credit: Ski Utah via YouTube