Utah ski resorts upgrade avalanche mitigation technology to phase out old military artillery
Estimated read time: 1-2 minutesALTA — Alta Ski Area is installing new avalanche towers to better protect skiers and to phase out old military artillery.This summer, the resort is installing five Wyssen avalanche towers around Mt. Baldy from the Switzerland-based company, according to Mike Maughan, Alta's general manager. Alta installed three last summer in the Supreme area of the mountain, and several more will be installed next year.Several howitzers — long-range military weapons that launch a projectile — are currently in use in Little Cottonwood Canyon to trigger controlled avalanches."Mov(ing) away from anything that's shooting a projectile in the air is a safer, better way to do avalanche mitigation work," Maughan said.This winter will be the ...