Source: Matsimus
Every year since 1961, Canadian Armed Forces’ (CAF) gunners from all over Canada come together during Operation PALACI in Rogers Pass, British Columbia. Their job is to trigger avalanches using C3 105mm Howitzers in this vital choke-point in Canada’s transportation corridor.
These carefully planned artillery strikes are conducted to support the Parks Canada’s avalanche control program, which keeps the Trans-Canada Highway and the Canadian Pacific Railway safe from large, natural avalanches.
The C3 Howitzers have been modified and are positioned on one of the 16 specialized rings that line the narrow highway. Space is at a premium, with gun positions just large enough for the howitzers and their transport, surrounded by deep ravines and tall cedar and hemlock trees.
The tight space is why the C3 Howitzer is the weapon of choice in Rogers Pass. With two highly mobile detachments, the guns can be deployed at a moment’s notice, traffic halted, the guns put in place, rounds fired at any of the 300 predetermined avalanche trigger points, the roads cleared of snow and the pass re-opened in mere hours.
While safety is always paramount, speed and efficiency also rule this operation. With over 4,000 vehicles and up to 40 trains using Rogers Pass daily in the winter, traffic quickly builds up on either side of the pass in the designated holding areas that keep vehicles out of the 134 known slide areas.
Such a complex dance of vehicles, weapons, ammunition and military and civilian personnel would not be possible without great communication and coordination.
