In Canada, Troops Fire Howitzers at Mountains in the Name of Avalanche Safety
The practice keeps dangerous levels of snow from accumulating.
By Kyle Mizokami
For more than fifty years, the 1st Royal Canadian Horse Artillery Regiment has been battling an enemy that's killed many more Canadians than terrorism has. We're talking about avalanches. Each winter, the regiment deploys a number of howitzers to Roger's Pass, British Columbia. The mission: blast hillsides with high explosive shells to reduce the threat of avalanches.
The Trans-Canada Highway and the Canadian Pacific Railway both traverse Rogers Pass, British Columbia, as a shortcut across the the "Big Bend" of the Columbia River. Located at 4,363 feet, Rogers Pass gets an ungodly amount of snow each year—up to 36 feet. According to the Canadian Armed Forces, more than 250 railroad workers were killed by avalanches in the pass between 1885 and 1916. The pass has 103 avalanche paths, giving it the highest rating for any arterial road in North America.
Closing the pass in the winter is not a viable solution. Canada estimates more than 4,000 motor vehicles and 40 trains make their way across the pass every day in winter, and keeping the pass open 365 days a year makes of billions of dollars in economic activity.
The Canadian government keeps the pass open by firing high explosive shells at the hillsides, triggering smaller, safer avalanches to avoid dangerous buildups of snow. Scientists from Parks Canada monitor snow conditions in the area and if a potentially dangerous situation is detected, they get in touch with the Army. Each year since 1961, the Royal Canadian Artillery has sent howitzers to the pass to fire shells at preregistered targets on hillsides.
The program, known as Operation PALACI is well established, with seventeen firing positions set up along roadsides. Gunners fire high explosive shells at avalanche paths up to three to five kilometers away. The artillery strikes are carried out with C3 towed 105-millimeter howitzers, an upgrade of the older U.S. M101 howitzer.
This year, according to the Canadian Armed Forces, the 1st Regiment, Royal Canadian Horse Artillery, from Canadian Forces Base Shilo, Manitoba, and various reserve artillery units will carry out the bombardments. PALACI is expected to run through mid-April.
Here's a video on PALACI from 2015 created by the Calgary Herald:
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