History and Current Trends on Explosives Use for Avalanche Control in the USA

摘要

This was a description by the poet of what occurred over two centuries earlier to Hannibal's troops as he passed through the Alps. Interestingly, the pass that many feel is the route that Hannibal chose, Col de la Traversette, is the sight of possibly the earliest avalanche mitigation known. Monastery records describe a tunnel built in 1470, near the top of the pass designed to protect pilgrims from the upper slopes. For the next several centuries, avoidance and reinforced structures were the primary tactics to defend from avalanches. Through the centuries, avalanches have probably taken their heaviest toll on the armies who ventured into the mountains during the winter months. From Alexander the Great through Napoleon, thousands of troops have lost their lives due to avalanches. But all earlier incidents pale to the catastrophes that occurred in the Tyrol during the First World War. It is estimated that between the Italians and the Austrians, during 1915 through 1918, up to 80,000 died in avalanches. It was found that avalanches were an effective weapon when artillery was fired into the upper slopes, far superior to artillery alone.