SE6EP4 - Steven Clark: Avalanche Safety on Cottonwood Highways

Steven Clark enjoyed the ideal skier’s lifestyle as a young boy living at the mouth of the Cottonwood Canyons. Today, he’s the avalanche safety program manager for the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT). As skiers and riders wind their way up Little Cottonwood Canyon, one of the most avalanche-intensive sections of highway in the world, he’s the one leading efforts to help keep us safe. Clark joined this episode of Last Chair from Snowbird to talk about innovative new technology that is helping to keep avalanche safety workers – and all of us on the highway – safe during winter storms.

Many of us think about backcountry avalanche safety. Clark himself, when he was young, had the Utah Avalanche Center phone number posted on the family’s home phone. But it’s doubtful many of us think a lot about avalanches as we travel mountain highways every winter. We think about the plows that clear the roadway for us. But what’s up above might be largely out of our minds as we wind up State Route 210 for eight miles towards Snowbird and Alta.

In those eight miles from the mouth of Little Cottonwood Canyon up to Alta, there are 64 identified, named avalanche paths that can impact the highway. While the ski resorts all manage avalanche safety in their boundaries, it’s up to UDOT to mitigate the danger on the highway. From howitzers to hand charges, UDOT avalanche safety teams work to keep all highways in the state safe for drivers and residents.

For around 75 years military howitzers have played a pivotal role, lobbing shells across valleys to dislodge snowpack before it poses a danger to the highway. In 2007, UDOT began to look at alternatives to lobbing shells through the air. Today, howitzers are being phased out. As an example, in 2023 Alta retired its 105-mm cannon that had fired thousands of rounds of shells since being introduced in the 1950s by avalanche safety legend Monty Atwater.

Replacing the howitzers is an array of remotely triggered devices installed on mountainside towers throughout the canyon. Towers from Wyssen Avalanche Control can be remotely activated to drop charges into the snow. Installations from GAZEX™ create a controlled explosion from which the concussive force triggers a slide. UDOT is using both systems, with new installations around Mount Superior will be in operation this season. There are now nearly 90 remotely-activated avalanche mitigation installations in the canyon between UDOT and the ski resorts. 

The new systems provide yet another level of public safety, eliminating the need to fire shells across the valley or to have avalanche safety workers conduct high-risk operations. In addition, UDOT employs a sophisticated array of avalanche sensors to analyze the snowpack and provide valuable feedback and updates.

This episode of Last Chair provides some fascinating insights into the work done behind the scenes to keep us safe as we travel the Cottonwood Canyons to ski and ride. A well-known figure in the Utah snow safety community, Steven Clark is a great example of the dedication of the UDOT team that helps keep us safe.