How to Stop an Avalanche? Blow Up a Mountain

HISTORY This Week

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4.6 • 3.9K Ratings

🗓️ 13 January 2025

⏱️ 26 minutes

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Summary

January 15, 1939. It's finally working! After countless mechanical issues, the first operational ski lift in the state of Utah is taking people up the mountain so they can glide down its slopes. Skiing conditions are ideal in the town of Alta, and this lift will allow this relatively new sport to explode in popularity. But as beautiful as Alta is, there's also a looming threat... avalanches. Alta is in one of the most avalanche-prone areas in the entire country. It used to be a small mining town, and its residents have been dealing with avalanches for years, mourning their dead and rebuilding again and again. But now, with Alta becoming a haven for skiing, drastic measures will be needed to keep thousands of visitors safe. How did the Alta Ski Area become the testing ground for all things avalanche control? And how did rangers find their answer to the avalanche in a deadly weapon of war? Special thanks to Craig Gordon, avalanche forecaster with the U.S. Forest Service’s Utah Avalanche Center; Andrea Huskinson, former Alta Ski Area communication manager; and Jonathan Morgan, assistant director of the Alta Avalanche Program. To stay updated: historythisweekpodcast.com To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	The History Channel, original podcast.
0:04.8	History this week, January 15, 1939.
0:11.3	I'm Sally Helm.
0:18.7	It's finally moving. The first operational ski lift in the state of Utah.
0:25.6	It was supposed to open weeks ago, but there were problems with the pulleys and the motors and the brakes.
0:31.6	This lift is actually an old piece of mining equipment.
0:35.6	It used to transport silver ore. But now it's
0:38.9	transporting skiers, paying 25 cents each to hop into a red metal chair and make their
0:44.8	way up the mountain. At this time, 1939, recreational skiing is just taking off. And the town of Alta, Utah, wants to be
0:57.8	at its center. Makes sense. The mining boom is over, and the town needs a new industry in order
1:04.2	to survive. Plus, in a single season, they can get up to 900 inches of snow.
1:12.8	Today is opening day, and things are going well.
1:16.6	A reporter writes, at 3 p.m., all was serene.
1:20.4	The nursery slope on the north side of the basin was crowded with skiers of all ages.
1:24.8	The Forest Service shelter was filled to capacity with parka-clad, hot dog,
1:28.6	and hamburger seekers. But then, just 10 minutes later, a storm moves in. Blinding gusts of snow
1:39.3	below down the sides of this mountain. The weather here can change on a dime. And that heavy load of snow
1:46.1	can become extremely dangerous. And that is the way in which it makes no sense at all to put a
1:55.0	ski resort right here in Alta, Utah. It has long been known as one of the most dangerous places in this region, because it is right in the heart of avalanche country.
2:11.6	As of this moment, while the skiers grab their hamburgers, while the new red chairs swing beneath the lift,
2:19.3	no one has been able to tame this threat.
2:23.8	But in order to harness the potential of this new growing industry,
	...

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