United States Military Artillery For Avalanche Control Program: A Short History In Time

ABSTRACT: The U.S. Forest Service initiated avalanche control and forecasting in the United States. The Forest Service manages large tracts of publicly owned land called National Forests and they permit certain activities and businesses on those lands. The Forest Service began permitting ski areas on National Forests in 1938 when they issued a special use permit to Alta Ski Area in Little Cottonwood Canyon near Salt Lake City, Utah. Almost immediately the Forest Service realized that avalanches threatened the public both while they traveled the Little Cottonwood Canyon Road to reach Alta Ski Area and while they actually skied. The Forest Service hired Douglass Wadsworth to help mitigate the threat and he became the first Forest Service Snow Ranger. The Forest Service Snow Ranger Program grew to become one of the most effective and innovative avalanche control and forecasting programs in the world. Forest Service Snow Rangers pioneered the use explosives for avalanche control in the US, developed the first effective avalanche forecasting programs in the US, and initiated the use of military artillery for avalanche control in the US. My paper will trace the development of the Military Artillery for Avalanche Control Program in the United States from its inception to today. It will explain how military artillery work, examine alternatives to military artillery, discuss three 106mm RR accidents and discuss the future of military artillery for avalanche control in the U.S