Drones Revolutionize Avalanche Control

0:00It's April 26th. Welcome to Canada News Today, powered by AI. Back in the early 1950s, Montgomery Atwater, a World War II vet and ski patroller at Alta Yuta, got buried alive by a thousand tons of snow while triggering an avalanche on skis to clear slopes. He barely survived and decided there had to be a smarter way, so he scored old army houses and started blasting risky areas to prevent slides. That move made him the pioneer of modern avalanche control. A system resorts worldwide have used for decades. Fast forward, those howitzers are aging out. Korean war relics with ammo that's drying up and the military won't hand over newer gear to civilians. Places like Alaska are scrambling for alternatives, ditching the big guns for safer options. Keyteens have hand thrown explosives or helicopters, but those are dangerous, pricey and in precise. Charges can tumble wrong or blow too soon.

1:00Folks in the industry knew change was coming, especially after 13 avalanche deaths in British Columbia this year alone. Inter drones, late last March at Whistler Peak after the lifts shut down, a heavy lift all to X model from drone amplified dropped its first explosive. Test charge in Canada, using the precise Amante's air burst system, Squamish's Alpine solutions ran it, fresh off transport Canada approval, beating even full U.S. rollout. This tech promises quick hits anywhere, boosting safety for resorts and maybe backcountry riders down the line as companies gear up to make drones. The new standard in winter ops.