Photo by Tim Jones / Grit Visual
It's no secret that Utah is blessed with phenomenal snow. It's not only the quality but it's the prodigious depth of our snowpack every winter that turns heads. There is nowhere quite so dependable as Utah for fantastic skiing and snowboarding... 
IT'S THE SNOW
With a PHD in Atmospheric Sciences, renowned local Professor, Jim Steenburgh is often affectionately dubbed "Professor Powder." In his book, "Secrets of the Greatest Snow on Earth," Steenburgh explains that Utah's storms roll in with the perfect combination of factors that create sublime powder skiing.
The bulk of our storms arrive via the Northwest and initially deliver snow to the slopes with a water content of 10-11 percent. The storms arrive with warmer temperatures that gradually chill, delivering a final punch of snow hovering between 4-7% water density. The denser snow that fell in the early hours of the storm offers a supportive base to be topped off with that low-density "blower" powder that Utah is so famous for. Alta Ski Area's average annual snowfall is 548 inches—that's over 45 feet of snow!
For a fun Tom Kelly interview with Steenburg, don't miss this Last Chair podcast episode!
THE SNOW: IT'S A PROBLEM
Now, we know Utah gets incredible snow and in huge amounts. While this may seem great, danger can lurk beneath the surface. Large volumes of storm snow create a lot of weight atop the existing snowpack, water is heavy, after all. Weaker layers in the snowpack can fail when loaded, triggering avalanches. For this reason, avalanche mitigation work is required by seasoned professionals after every snowfall at most of Utah's resorts and along some roadways.
In the early days of Utah's burgeoning ski industry, ski area folk quickly realized that avalanches would be a BIG problem. The combo of unique geographic and meteorological blessings meant that Utah became a hotbed of science, experimentation, daring—or dumb—feats of valor and bravery all in an attempt to fight the never-ending onslaught of avalanches. Beginning at Alta in the 1940s, Utah's Little Cottonwood Canyon served as the birthplace of avalanche forecasting and mitigation in North America. 
A THUNDEROUS ROAR
We've already covered the topic of Utah's early attempts at wrangling the avalanche dragon in our article over here. The TLDR version is that back in the 40s after a huge storm, the only recourse was to simply wait several days for a natural avalanche cycle to run, wait for the snowpack to settle and only then were skiers permitted to enjoy nature's bounty.
You can imagine how fun wrangling frothing skiers for actual days must have been. Not great. The folks at Alta began making detailed and precise observations to better understand what circumstances caused avalanches. The United States Forest Service (USFS) Snow Rangers experimented with ski cutting techniques and gingerly crossed the tops of freshly covered slopes to test for stability. This put Snow Rangers in grave danger so it wasn't long before explosives were enthusiastically tossed into the mix.
A BIG BOOM
Snow Rangers continued to experiment with different techniques to more safely trigger avalanches all while collecting mountains of data about storms, temperature gradients, the snowpack and any ensuing avalanche activity. They experimented with cutting cornices, blowing them up, using explosives and generally risking their lives on a daily basis. In 1949 a Snow Ranger at Alta by the name of Monty Atwater gained permission to test fire one of the Utah National Guard's 75-mm howitzer guns. Fifteen test shots were volleyed from a single location on the highway accomplishing what would have taken a Snow Ranger three days of backbreaking work. A new era was born.
Photo by Lexi Dowdall / Kapowder
SHOTS FIRED
From the 50s onward, a mix of ski cutting, handheld explosives, remotely triggered explosives, military artillery and helicopter missions were used to keep winter enthusiasts, structures and roads safe in Utah. Atwater even developed a specialized cannon that is used widely across North America called an Avalauncher. It took 75 years of work, danger and keen observation to develop many of the techniques that Ski Patrols worldwide utilize today to make ski areas safer. Snow safety and snow science professionals in Utah contributed greatly to this noble mission.
THE END OF AN ERA
Several years back the Army moved to recall a number of the artillery guns currently in use by various ski resorts and Departments of Transportation across America. Military artillery has been in use in Nevada, California, Colorado, Utah, Alaska, Washington and Wyoming. This move toward a policy change put a lot of pressure on snow safety folk to move away from using artillery and looking to make new choices about the future of avalanche mitigation. While military artillery is extremely accurate and effective at triggering avalanches, it was becoming obvious that better and safer technology was the answer and the Army wished to retire those artillery pieces.
Don't skip our short film Last Gunners, a gripping tale documenting this transition. 
Photo by Rocko Menzyk / Alta Ski Area
WHAT'S NEXT?
Ski areas in Utah and beyond are often keen to adopt new technologies to keep their guests, employees and structures safe. Europe has been a hotbed of innovation in avalanche mitigation thanks to the sheer number of towns, ski areas and roads that exist in dangerous avalanche terrain. Lately, the focus has been centered around a push toward Remote Avalanche Control (RACS) technology.
Remote Avalanche Control allows snow safety professionals to remotely trigger an explosive charge from a device installed in a known avalanche start zone. These remotely triggered devices eliminate the need to hike to an avalanche start zone to initiate a slide. This greatly reduces the exposure to numerous hazards for snow safety professionals and ski patrollers.
RACS have already been utilized in Utah for some time. UDOT, Snowbasin and Brighton have all used an avalanche mitigation system called GAZEX from a company in France called MND. A mixture of oxygen and propane gas is combined in a tube that is permanently situated in an avalanche start zone. The explosive detonation of the gasses expels a strong force through the nozzle of the tube, with the goal of triggering weak layers in the snowpack to fail and cause an avalanche. The gas is stored in tanks beneath the exploders on the mountain.
Photo by Lexi Dowdall / Kapowder
Beginning in 2017, Alta installed four O’BELLX devices, also manufactured by MND. An O'BELLX is a removable device that delivers an explosion in an avalanche start zone via a remote trigger. The module can be easily removed by a helicopter (without human involvement) and transported to a staging area where it can be reloaded for future detonations.
PUSHING FORWARD
The Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT), Alta Ski Area, Snowbird and Solitude have spent the last handful of years investing and installing in another type of RACS. In fact, UDOT installed the first Swiss-made Wyssen Avalanche Towers in North America. Alta, followed by Snowbird, then became the first ski areas in North America to install Wyssen Towers after witnessing the initial success of UDOT's installations along Emma Ridge above Highway 210 in Little Cottonwood Canyon.
Don't miss this fascinating Last Chair podcast with Tom Kelly on UDOT's avalanche program!
You may have spotted a number of slender poles supporting large, circular containers atop the ridgelines of Little Cottonwood or topping Mount Baldy between Snowbird and Alta. Most recently, Solitude added 4 Wyssen Towers to Fantasy Ridge and UDOT installed 16 towers during summer 2024 on Mount Superior above Highway 210 in Little Cottonwood. UDOT now operates a total of 29 Wyssen Towers and Utah's Cottonwood Canyons currently contain the densest concentration of Wyssen Towers in North America. The Wyssen Towers have proven very effective which is why Alta, Solitude, Snowbird and UDOT have all moved forward with investing in these technologies. The effort and cost have been substantial but keeping guests, employees, structures and roadways safe in Utah has always been a top priority.
WHAT'S IN A WYSSEN TOWER?
The beauty of RACS relies on the ability to operate the device remotely. A remote-controlled blast from the Wyssen Tower is triggered by a coded command entered by a ski patroller or snow safety professional who is stationed in a safe place away from the avalanche detonation zone. The deployment box on the tower contains as many as 12 explosive charges or "shots' which are dispensed individually. The explosive charge is dropped from the deployment box so it hangs 7-10 feet on a teather above the snow surface. After a timed delay, the explosion is triggered with the intent of causing weak layers in the snow to collapse, resulting in an avalanche. Like the O'BELLX, Wyssen Towers feature a deployment box that can also be easily removed by helicopter to be reloaded with charges between storms. 
GOING OUT WITH A BOOM!
Alta, alongside Jackson Hole, WY and Wolf Creek, CO is additionally testing another, newer RACS device called a BW-Exploder or the "Boom Woosh" from a company based in Jackson Hole called Alpine Infrastructure. The Boom Woosh is the first RACS device to be designed and made in North America. The contraption harbors a controlled gas explosion fed by gas lines capable of transporting gas from a distant container. The gas can be pushed uphill through the gas lines up to 500 vertical meters and 1 kilometer away. Thus, a Boom Woosh can offer more flexibility with installation and it is not reliant upon winter helicopter transport to maintain. This cost-effective solution from Alpine Infrastructure is yet another tool in the business of pushing avalanche mitigation further into the future with its operational efficiency.
Utah, and the Cottonwood Canyons in particular, have always been at the forefront of respecting, studying and better understanding snow science and avalanche safety. Our reliable snowfall makes an ideal testing ground in the battle with one of Mother Nature's fiercest forces. For over 75 years there have been thankless hours of toiling in the dark, measuring snowfall, hiking stormy ridgelines, detonating explosives and thousands and thousands of hours of work to try and better understand, predict and prevent avalanches. Utah continues to push into the frontier of this vital quest thanks to the passionate snow safety professionals who build their life's work around the Cottonwood Canyons.
Ski Utah would like to extend massive thanks to
UDOT, Alta, Snowbird and Solitude
for the help and collaboration in making this film.
RELATED ARTICLES
The History of Avalanche Forecasting
& Mitigation in Utah - CLICK HERE
Alta's Last Gunners - CLICK HERE
UDOT'S Robust Avalanche Program - CLICK HERE
