During one of our Leadville sessions the year two students made a field trip to tour Arapahoe Basins newly installed explosives tram system with Ryan Evanczyk, Arapahoe Basins director of snow safety. Ryan gave an excellent presentation on why they chose this specific tram system and why it works so well for the terrain they installed it in as well as the other avalanche mitigation methods A-Basin uses to mitigate their avalanche hazard. Below is a link to a paper Ryan published about the implementation of their new explosives delivery system in the Steep Gullies which he presented at the International Snow Science Workshop [ISSW] in 2018.
The purpose of our field trip and Ryans presentation and tour of Arapahoe Basins avalanche mitigation tools was to give us a direct perspective on the appropriate use of certain mitigation tools. The installation works well on the Steep Gullies at Arapahoe Basin because it is the most efficient and safe way for workers to deliver explosives into the ideal location to maximize reverb and impact the largest area of the snowpack possible. For more detailed information about the installation of this explosive tram see Ryans paper with the link above. Ryan also showed us the Avalauncher tower, their new magazine installation, the locations where they typically do hand charges, and a number of unique features that require season-long mitigation to allow guests to safely enjoy the ski resort.
Our tour of Arapahoe Basin and their avalanche mitigation tools was an incredibly beneficial learning experience about avalanche safety on a ski resort. The next day we would go on to have a tour with CDOT and see their avalanche mitigation tools and techniques and were able to compare and contrast different mitigation tools for different applications in the field.