Just as we took a tour of Arapahoe Basin during one of our sessions we took a tour of some of CDOTs avalanche mitigation methods and tools. Brian Gorsage gave us an excellent presentation about all of the avalanche mitigation tools CDOT uses to trigger avalanches preemptively in order to trigger controlled avalanches. From their data collection schemes, sharing data and working closely with CAIC, helicopter missions, Howitzer cannons, Avalaunchers, RAC systems, and future installations above popular avalanche paths, Brian went over all the details and why these use separate tools for separate avalanche paths and purposes.
This gave a very interesting contrast to looking at the different techniques to be used when dealing with avalanche problems over transportation corridors as opposed to avalanche hazards in a ski resort such as we saw in our tour of Arapahoe Basin.