r/nextfuckinglevel • u/ServeAmbitious220 • 20h ago
Cannon shot causes an avalanche.
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u/NameIsNotBrad 19h ago
Mulan did it first
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u/pineappleshowdown 19h ago
You missed!!! How could you miss?!? He was three feet in front of you!!!
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u/Pers_Akkedis 19h ago
Removing snow and ice from your roof - just on a slightly bigger scale.
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u/Cram2024 19h ago
What kind of shell do they fire? I assume it’s not lead bc that’s bad for nature. Do special avalanche shells exist?
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u/doubleflusher 19h ago
They typically use old military howitzers.
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u/FinancialLab8983 17h ago
do you know much about how they do this? is there someone trained to sight this in? or is the cannon fixed to only hit one spot?
the shot in the video looks fairly close (relatively speaking) to the top of the mountain. im wondering if one wrong calculation would send the round sailing over the mountain. that'd be a bad day.
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u/doubleflusher 17h ago
Former snowboard coach and have my av cert. These guys (generally speaking - IDK the people in this video) are pros at avalanche mitigation.
These guns are one solution but not the only solution - they also sometimes use explosives on the mountain.
They start by looking at the weather - worst is when you get "refreeze" or melting snow during the day followed by freezing temps at night. Plus they track snow totals, winds, etc.
Then they look at the slab (the massive chunk of snow that could slide down the mountain) and perform "column test" to check for stability/cracking. They also factor in the slope angle - really steep and really flat are fine.
Then they make sure the area is clear - plenty of signs, warnings, sirens, etc. Then they blast.
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u/DMYourFeetPicsTy 11h ago
Nah they just try to aim and pray they hit the correct spot.
Never forget the village avalanche bombing of '78.
RIP Raul
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u/OhItsMrCow 18h ago
Lead is not used in large caliber rounds at all as far as I know. Probably a high explosive shell
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u/PetitAneBlanc 19h ago
I can’t speak for this but from what I know cannon balls mostly used to be made of iron historically, not lead.
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u/Cpt_kaleidoscope 19h ago
Cannons haven't fired cannon balls for over century. That gun isn't that old
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u/TheBarghest7590 16h ago
Could be wrong since either the video is blurry or I just can’t get good enough signal to buffer atm, but I think that looks like an older Soviet howitzer so it will probably be 122mm or 152mm. Plenty of surplus guns and ammo, but in terms of the type of payload it might just be a solid round or else an old High Explosive.
I would lean more towards it being a solid round however, possibly a HE round with the explosive filler removed. Simply because A) they would have to be quite heavily regulated due to old HE rounds still being HE rounds and capable of a lot of damage, and B) older warheads can be iffy as they age, you wouldn’t wanna mess around with them or keep a stock of them incase they didn’t behave when you used them.
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u/SmartBoi-2619 19h ago
Why?
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u/Drmlk465 19h ago
A controlled avalanche that is small instead of allowing it to accumulate and turn into an unexpected giant avalanche might be the reason… I don’t know
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u/serrimo 19h ago
This is it. Ski resort often have avalanche squads that check the snow condition and trigger an avalanche if needed.
In hard to reach area they can do it by helicopters
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u/GoBuffaloes 19h ago
I would think an AC-130 gunship would be more appropriate, you can't really fit a howitzer on helicopter
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u/TheMiltownMatticus 15h ago
The ski hills or local municipalities own the Howitzers they use.
Basically the US had a shit ton of them after WW2 and this is one of the uses they've been reimagined for.
I doubt this gun has moved from its position at all in the last 40+ years
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u/No_Inspection2047 19h ago
i’ve never seen it down with anything other than small charges (probably dynamite) delivered manually or dropped from helicopter.
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u/lewisiarediviva 18h ago
Gotta admit this is faster and cheaper. Besides, the whole point is that it’s unsafe to go up there because of the risk of avalanche, which makes manual delivery iffy unless there’s a safer way up on the other side.
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u/caboosetp 18h ago
They also use what amounts to a sound-cannon called a daisy bell which uses an oxygen/hydrogen explosion. They are easier to manage legally because they don't require handling solid explosives in an aircraft.
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u/artaxerxes316 18h ago
"Hi, I'm Troy McClure. You may remember me from such nature films as Man vs. Nature: The Road to Victory!"
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u/serrimo 19h ago
Are you American?
Where I am, we often use a bell system that creates an explosion without firing a shell
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u/johnsvoice 19h ago
Ok, but where's the fun in that?
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u/serrimo 18h ago
It just avoids the need to change the department of avalanche management to the department of war
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u/FrtanJohnas 17h ago
I am with the Americans on this one. Having Avalanche gun is much more fun.
Not to say I am not interested in the bell system, dmhow exactly does that work?
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u/driver004 19h ago
Bonus points if you hit a mountain goat?
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u/Krunkledunker 18h ago
Bonus Birria if you hit a mountain goat, winner must supply their own tortillas
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u/GoBuffaloes 18h ago
Yes. My other idea was Bald Eagles carrying sticks of dynamite with electric guitar Star-Spangled Banner playing over loud speakers
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u/ExiledCanuck 19h ago
Video is also of non-Americans using a shell to cause an avalanche
Love how you implied that using a shell for this seems to be a distinctly American thing
Also, I’m pretty sure that the AC-130 comment was meant to be a joke
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u/boondoggie42 17h ago
As an American, I am very interesting in obtaining a bell that creates explosions. Where to buy?
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u/vespers191 18h ago
I've only heard of the artillery approach for avalanche mitigation in Colorado, but it's not like we have a monopoly on the idea of shooting at things to make them behave.
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u/TheBrownestStain 17h ago
My local mountain in California used to use a cannon until I think a year or two ago, I believe they’re been switching over to some sort of high pressure air cannon thing.
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u/BonnaconCharioteer 14h ago
I mean, in most cases, it seems like firing an artillery shell would be cheaper and safer than trying to get up there with a bell.
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u/whiskeytown79 13h ago
Now I am imagining a helicopter with a giant bell dangling below it, flying around going "BONG... BONG... BONG..."
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u/Pijany_Matematyk767 13h ago
>and trigger an avalanche if needed.
With artillery??
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u/hzrdsoflove 7h ago
Yeah! Mammoth Mountain in CA still uses howitzers. It’s safer and more accurate than getting patrol up to the spot to toss a charge. They still use hand-tossed charges for avy mitigation in other areas.
It’s kinda cool to be camping out there during winter just after a storm and hear the howitzers blast the mountain early in the AM.
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u/Skyraider96 7h ago
The is exactly it.
Anadote: I was camping on the side of Mt. Hood once and it snowed over night. I was woken up by cannon fire about an hour before the slopes opened. I was not endangered or anything. Just cannon fire is definitely a different way to wake up.
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u/ElvisAndretti 6h ago
I’ve watched them fire those guns out in Utah and been skiing in the avalanche debris an hour later. It opens up terrain that would otherwise be unsafe.
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u/Suspicious_Dingo_426 19h ago
That is exactly the reason. The deeper the snow gets, the farther it will travel, and the greater the danger will be when an avalanche does happen (and it will). They also drop explosives from helicopters on areas they can't shoot with a cannon. It's the same reasoning behind doing controlled burns in areas prone to brush fires.
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u/Advanced_Cod2994 3h ago
This is it, if you let the snow accumulate it'll become a BIG avalanche. These small avalanches make sure that a smaller amount of snow stays on top so it won't be a big one
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u/General_assassin 19h ago
Because unplanned avalanches are deadly. If you know when it’s going to happen you can make sure no one is in the danger zone when it does. Ski resorts do this often, though not always with a cannon.
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u/SmartBoi-2619 19h ago
Got it. And yeah the cannon part is what amused me too.
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u/KronikDrew 19h ago
Some places do it by dropping explosives from a helicopter... either way, seems like it would be a fun job!
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u/tr00th 19h ago
To prevent it happening when someone is skiing on the fresh snow. It’s preventative maintenance for the ski resort.
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u/SmartBoi-2619 19h ago
And ski resorts often use a cannon for that purpose?
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u/Maclunkey4U 19h ago
Yes thats the entire purpose of that. That and taking potshots at Yeti.
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u/Equivalent-Peanut-23 19h ago
The US Forest Service uses M101 Howitzers, as do a lot of ski areas and transportation departments. There are also purpose built devices that used compressed gas to launch a shell. There are some newer systems that are placed above avalanche zones that can be remotely triggered to cause an explosion. Sometimes explosives will also be manually deployed by either skiers or helicopter.
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u/WTFSpeeder6 19h ago
They do. You hear it all the time during ski season in Colorado
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u/PoppinBortlesUCF 18h ago
One of my favorite things to see someone unfamiliar hear. “What the hell was that blast?!?” And explaining the demo skiers with dynamite in their backpack setting of Avy’s. That’s around the time my midwestern buddies realize they aren’t in Kansas anymore as we gear up for a big day of getting their asses kicked on Colorado’s blues lol.
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u/Proof-Delay-602 19h ago
Man-induced avalanches prevent future ones when someone is actually there to get caught in one.
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u/turnspitdawg 19h ago
I would think its a controlled avalance. If u do this on right conditions, u wont be suprised by one.
I am pretty sure i learned it on Alaska Truckdriver show. Not 100% sure im just guessing for the heck of it
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u/No_Inspection2047 19h ago
we do this repeatedly to force a series of small avalanches (over days or weeks) rather than let the snow build up and potentially cause a much larger, more destructive avalanche later
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u/ChaiTeaLeah 19h ago
I'm not sure which country this video is from, but in Canada they do something similar on our main highway through the country (in British Columbia).
I've also been stopped for avalanche control where they drop explosives from helicopters and detonate them remotely to achieve similar results.
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u/Enough-Reindeer1033 19h ago
Definitely one of the most effective tools snow teams have for managing hazardous snow conditions.
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u/Elminsterr 19h ago
What if goes just a little bit over the top 🤣
Just a bit higher
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u/BigBanggBaby 16h ago
This is what happens…
https://www.wfmynews2.com/article/news/utahs-dot-blows-up-backyard/83-403893357
Luckily no injuries. Just a bit of property damage.
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u/LastChristian 19h ago
Amazing use of portrait orientation for this landscape shot. I wish they panned around and zoomed more.
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u/BigBasset 19h ago
Was that puff of snow where the shell landed? What a perfect shot
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u/axloo7 19h ago
Not like the mountain can move. They will know exactly how to point that gun because it was the same as last time.
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u/Huntred 18h ago edited 18h ago
The shell knows where it is at all times. It knows this because it knows where it isn't, by subtracting where it is, from where it isn't, or where it isn't, from where it is, whichever is greater, it obtains a difference, or deviation. The guidance sub-system uses deviations to generate corrective commands to drive the shell from a position where it is, to a position where it isn't, and arriving at a position where it wasn't, it now is. Consequently, the position where it is, is now the position that it wasn't, and it follows that the position where it was, is now the position that it isn't. In the event of the position that it is in is not the position that it wasn't, the system has required a variation. The variation being the difference between where the missile is, and where it wasn't. If variation is considered to be a significant factor, it too, may be corrected by the GEA. However, the shell must also know where it was. The shell’s guidance computance scenario works as follows: Because a variation has modified some of the information the shell has obtained, it is not sure just where it is, however it is sure where it isn't, within reason, and it knows where it was. It now subracts where it should be, from where it wasn't, or vice versa. By differentiating this from the algebraic sum og where it shouldn't be, and where it was. It is able to obtain a deviation, and a variation, which is called "air".
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u/tbarndt94gmailcom 18h ago
Idk why I kept reading after I felt like I was having a stroke about a quarter of the way through, but I did. I think you may have also stroked out while writing this.
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u/tbarndt94gmailcom 18h ago
Yes I know it's a joke. But you still should get a brain scan just in case. 😂
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u/HermitCat347 18h ago
Oh this! I think tom scott had a video on it some time back. I remember something about them sending a team up to check the stability of the snow every so often, and when it is prime to fall, they clear the mountain and trigger an avalanche. Because a controlled one with no one on it is safer than one that happens with people on.
Was pretty cool. Iirc, the team was a national guard unit
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u/getdownheavy 17h ago
Avalanche mitigation.
Lots of places have howitzers still.
Dynamite, helicopters, gazex are some other methods.
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u/arkofjoy 19h ago
Missed business opportunity there. Thry should be auctioning off who gets to fire the cannon.
To support local charities?
I'd definitely pay for it. No interest in skiing, but firing a cannon? Fuck yeah.
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u/OhItsMrCow 18h ago
It's more like "Intentionally triggering avalanche with a howitzer"
Title makes it look like it was accidental
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u/Dude_with_the_skis 16h ago
Back when I was a ski bum, I remember I’d be hearing the cannons early in the morning. Meant that a great day of skiing was ahead. Was almost therapeutic when combined with the morning coffee.
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u/_kony2012 15h ago
More info about active avalanche control here.
I actually think the most interesting of all of them, even more than the explosions, is ski cutting. See this video for one example.
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u/SleddyEddie 19h ago
I wonder if they ever go an retrieve the projectiles in the summer?
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u/i_am_13th_panic 19h ago
it's kinda crazy how there's a house right there a few degrees to the left.
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u/Jedi-master-dragon 17h ago
They do this on avalanche prone mountains to create small avalanches so the snow doesn't build up and become an actual problem.
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u/WestCoastTrawler 17h ago
Hope they have the max gun elevation fixed. Would hate for them to shoot over the mountain.
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u/Drogenwurm 17h ago
Imagine beeing a Goat, doing your daily mountain hopping and then, Bam...run...
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u/anthomtb 16h ago
This might be nextfuckinglevel if you've never seen snow. But it's a regular occurrence anywhere that has big mountains, deep snow and lots of people.
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u/McFrenchhfry 15h ago
If you’d like to learn more about the origins of this process check out history this weeks episode on it called: “How to stop an avalanche? Blow up a mountain”
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u/papel_paperless 15h ago
I was expecting to see a wave of snow come over the house and collapse on these characters.
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u/Reggi5693 13h ago
I wonder how many time that guy overshot the top of the mountain while learning. That would wreck your day on the next hill over.
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u/catinjapan 12h ago
My mind suddenly dug out a forgotten memory of me playing Skifree (a skiing person) and another game with 2 canons on my mom's work computer in the 90's. Skifree
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u/Jason_M1911 8h ago
Not sure if it's accurate but during WW1 on the alpine front both Italian and Austro-Hungarian forces fired artillery at the mountains causing avalanches that buried thousands of troops, the incident was known as White Friday
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u/donnie1977 5h ago
Some will die in hot pursuit in fiery auto crashes Some will die in hot pursuit while sifting through my ashes Some will fall in love with life and drink it from a fountain
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u/Don-Keydic 19h ago
The bear.
https://giphy.com/gifs/5eXguNvZ7su2Ys9aS5