Undetonated explosive charge found at CBMR

Device could be many years old

By Katherine Nettles

An undetonated explosive used for avalanche control was found and disposed of recently at Crested Butte Mountain Resort (CBMR), despite ski season and avalanche work having ceased many months ago. According to Liz Biebl, Vail Resorts director of communications, the device was spotted by a guest who was climbing Sunset Ridge on Tuesday, September 25.

The guest reported the device and location to CBMR staff, and CBMR mountain operations and ski patrol then contacted the Colorado Division of Oil and Public Safety.

Scott Narreau, program manager for explosives safety for the state of Colorado, provided direction and assisted with the recovery and safe disposal of the explosive on Thursday, September 27, which included CBMR staff using climbing ropes to safely access the location.

Narreau, who has held his position with the department for 12 years and has a previous military background in explosives retrieval, said the explosive found by the hiker was a cast primer in the shape of a projectile that is typically used by ski patrollers for the resort’s avalauncher devices. The avalauncher is a gun mount station used to fire explosive rounds at the snowpack to test or trigger unstable snowpack from a distance, and one is located near the base of the Banana Peel area on the west side of the ski mountain.

“The objective when using explosives in the Upper Banana area is to affect potential avalanche starting zones higher in the chute, which are not accessible to the public during the winter season,” wrote Biebl.

Narreau agreed to come to the location and help the mountain operations team determine how to handle the device. He joined CBMR ski patrollers Tom Schaefer and John Hickey on an initial reconnaissance mission, hiking out to the steep, rocky aspect known as the Hall of Fame in the Upper Banana Peel area and locating the stray avalauncher round.

The group closed access to that part of the mountain and returned with the proper tools to disassemble the device and pack it out. Narreau said that Schaefer climbed out to the device and inserted a safety pin into the bore rider safety pin hole to render the charge in the assembly obstructed.

“From a safety standpoint, as long as you can get a pin through… you can safely disassemble it. At that point I would consider the round rendered safe,” said Narreau. The group then disassembled it, packed out the parts, and detonated them in a secured area using more explosives from a safe distance.

“Distance is your friend when shooting explosives,” said Narreau.

Avalauncher rounds are made of cast explosives, or pentolite booster, he explained. This is a combination of pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN), trinitrotoluene (TNT) and other ingredients.

According to Narreau, the mountain operations department of CBMR had not known when the stray misfire had happened, but had planned to look back in its records for more information. The avalanche safety department for every resort has strict regulations on keeping track of inventory, said Narreau.

“I’m not sure how old the round was … inventory is extremely strict, and everything gets marked in the blaster’s report,” he said. Use of avalaunchers can certainly make stray undetonated rounds, called misfires, hard to find. It doesn’t happen a lot, he said, but if something is misfired, it also has to be recorded in the blaster’s report.

“That’s an industry standard practice with all explosives. You handle with care,” said Narreau.

“[Avalauncher devices] are usually contrasting colors; this one had blue on the nose and base, which I hadn’t seen before. That made me think it might be old, although I definitely do not see all the rounds that are manufactured for each ski area,” said Narreau.

“There are definitely misfired explosives in the mountains of Colorado. It’s good for people who are visiting in the mountains to be aware that those things could possibly exist out there. If they are seen, people should report it; don’t pick them up, or ever move them,” said Narreau.

Biebl emphasized that signs are posted at the base of lifts that access terrain where avalanche mitigation devices may be used with instructions to not disturb devices and how to report them. A device can be reported to any CBMR employee or by contacting CBMR Ski/Bike Patrol Dispatch at (970) 349-2236.

“CBMR places the highest value on the safety of its guests and incidents like this are extremely rare,” said Biebl.

The CBMR ski patrol director was also contacted but did not respond to attempts for comment.