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Title:

AVALANCHE HAZARD REDUCTION ON US-89/191 WITH SNOW SAILS
Cover of AVALANCHE HAZARD REDUCTION ON US-89/191 WITH SNOW SAILS

Accession Number:

00974880

Record Type:

Component

Availability:

N/A
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Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/00978515

Abstract:

Snow sails are a form of passive avalanche-starting zone defense. A deployment of snow sails will disrupt the snowpack in an avalanche-starting zone and inhibit the formation of coherent, continuous avalanche wind-slabs. Snow sails were first constructed from on-hand materials and deployed in the European Alps in the late 1940s through the 1950s. They were known in German as "kolktalfen," which translates literally as (airflow) eddy (generating) tables. Snow sails are only applicable to certain specific avalanche environments, including sites where the dominant avalanche mechanism is through the formation of wind slabs. The objective of the Milepost 151 avalanche project was to assess, test, and install an operational deployment of approximately 50 snow sails in the avalanche-starting zone as a means of cost-effectively reducing the avalanche hazard, due primarily to wind-slab avalanching, for motorists and Wyoming Department of Transportation maintainers on US-89/191. The 151 avalanche is located adjacent to a populated residential area of Jackson, Wyoming, and is also a critical, managed big game winter habitat. After 4 years of pilot-phase trials and technology demonstrations, a complement of 60 snow sails was fabricated, transported, and installed during the autumn of 2002. The final sail design was similar to the initial trial design. Helicopter-supported logistics were used to transport 50 of the preassembled snow sails, earth pin anchors, and cabling from the Jackson valley floor to the 151 avalanche site. Unlike other forms of constructed, passive avalanche-starting zone defense facilities, snow sails may be removed annually in the spring and reinstalled in the autumn. This minimizes their year-round visual impact. The 151 avalanche snow-sail deployment has undergone a requisite U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service/National Environmental Policy Act Environmental Assessment. The finding was one of no significant impact.

Supplemental Notes:

Distribution, posting, or copying of this PDF is strictly prohibited without written permission of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. Unless otherwise indicated, all materials in this PDF are copyrighted by the National Academy of Sciences. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved

Report/Paper Numbers:

E-C063,
SNOW04-005
SNOW04-039

Language:

English

Corporate Authors:

Transportation Research Board

500 Fifth Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001 United States

Authors:

Decker, R
Rice, R
Wells, L
Yount, J

Pagination:

p. 645-655

Publication Date:

2004-6

Serial:

Transportation Research Circular

Issue Number: E-C063
Publisher: Transportation Research Board
ISSN: 0097-8515

Conference:

Sixth International Symposium on Snow Removal and Ice Control Technology

Location: Spokane, Washington
Date: 2004-6-7 to 2004-6-9
Sponsors: Transportation Research Board; Washington State Department of Transportation; American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials; and Federal Highway Administration.

Features:

Figures (2) ; Photos (5) ; References (2)

Uncontrolled Terms:

Snow sails; Wind slabs

Geographic Terms:

Jackson (Wyoming)

Subject Areas:

Highways; Maintenance and Preservation; Security and Emergencies; I62: Winter Maintenance

Files:

TRIS, TRB

Created Date:

Jun 16 2004 12:00AM