BOOM BOOM WHOOSH
Published in the Jan. 24, 2026 issue.
Mammoth Mountain Ski Area (MMSA) has been exploring remote avalanche control systems (RACS) to replace its howitzer artillery cannons. The biggest stumbling blocks are state regulations, which ban some of the more sophistocated RACS.
The discussion around avalanche mitigation technology has come into focus after the recent death of Mammoth Mountain Ski Patroller Cole Murphy while he was running an avalanche control route.
Mammoth’s effort to implement this technology began this summer, when the mountain installed its first gas-powered RAC system known as Boom Whoosh over the Climax ski run.
“Our intent was to test and use it this season before engaging in more widespread installation of this system, as well as other RAC systems,” said Mammoth Mountain Ski Patrol Manager Chuck Megivern in a statement. “Our initial testing of the system has proved successful. Together with explosives-based RACs, we believe we can make substantial progress on reducing risk to patrollers.”
There are a number of RAC systems installed throughout the country. Some are explosive powered and triggered by a safety fuse, like the Swiss Wyssen towers. Others work by mixing oxygen and propane or hydrogen gas, stored in a large tank then connected via a gas line to the tower, like the GAZEX. In both instances, the avalanches are remotely triggered by personnel via cell phone or computer.
“It’s nice to have options,” said Alta Ski Area Avalanche Office Director Jonathon Morgan.
Something MMSA doesn’t have. Which is a problem, because Mammoth is a complex mountain to mitigate.
“Mammoth is a challenging mountain,” Morgan said. “With how much it snows and the way the wind blows … [the patrol] has a formidable opponent in the weather on the mountain.”
A regulatory challenge is that California’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal-OSHA) only allows California ski resorts to use gas-powered RACS. Some areas of California have taken advantage of this, like Caltrans’ use of a GAZEX along state routes 50 and 88. Palisades Tahoe has installed 13 of these units since 2017.
Cal-OSHA forbids California ski resorts from using the explosive-based RACS. These work by activating a charge released from a box attached to a 40-foot tower which contains the explosives. The explosion is triggered by the momentum of the charge falling. Two to three times per year, when the charges run out, a helicopter removes the box from the tower, allowing the patrol to reload in safety.
According to a Cal-OSHA slide deck from 2019, the organization takes issue with the safety fuse ignition of the explosive systems and the hazardous exposure to the explosives.
“California [also] sees an issue with the explosives that are not being watched or manned out on the mountain,” added head of Snowbird Ski Patrol Eric Murakami. “Maybe they think there’s a potential that they can get broken into, but they’re highly secure.”
The patrol receives alerts if the explosive box is unlocked without authorization, Murakami continued. But a security breach like that has never happened, and he doesn’t think it will.
Murakami serves on the board of Remote Avalanche Control Users North American Committee (RACUNAC). Together with the board, he has lobbied in Sacramento and in Tahoe for the use of explosive-based RACS in California ski resorts.
“We all need to have the same access to the same tools,” he said. “We are a close industry. It impacts me as an industry professional when people I care about are going through it because they don’t have access to what we have access to.”
Explosive-powered RACS have been used in Little Cottonwood Canyon since 2017, when the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) installed a Wyssen to help mitigate the slide paths from Cardiff Bowl onto Highway 210. The same year, Alta placed an O’BELLX gas-powered RAC above the East Baldy Chutes. Today, Alta has 18 Wyssen towers and Snowbird has 21.
Benefits of the explosive-powered RACS include the range, efficiency, and flexibility the systems allow the patrol.
“In the past, we would need to get the team ready and plan the shoot the night before or early the morning of,” Morgan said. “But now, we can react quicker to conditions. RACS are all about options.”
Some of the routes previously mitigated by hand charges are now taken care of by the remote-controlled systems, which helps minimize unnecessary risk for the Alta and Snowbird ski patrol.
“It’s a matter of safety, that’s our main objective,” Murakami said. “To protect the patrollers, the snowcat operators, and all of our employees that are on the mountain before and after high avalanche hazard.”
Ultimately, there is no perfect system for avalanche mitigation. It’s a dangerous job in any circumstance. Gas-powered RACS can have leaks in the lines or the tanks, and explosive-powered operations require appropriate helicopter access in order to re-load the fuse boxes. It’s hard to know which avalanche control systems will work for Mammoth until California legislation allows for every type to be implemented.
