Fernie Alpine Resort has added a new Avalauncher to its fleet to help minimize avalanche risk in central areas of the mountain.

FAR's latest Imperial Avalauncher is stationed at the top of White Pass, aimed at headwalls in Timber and Currie Bowls. The machine was made locally, manufactured at Elk Valley Precision in Sparwood, and welded and assembled at Summit Metals in Fernie. Its upgraded design is more-user friendly than previous models, with custom height adjustment.

It's one of 60 locally-made Imperials in-use worldwide across Europe and North America.

Fernie ski patroler Paul Wright said the resort uses Avalaunchers to clear snow build-up on the slopes, reducing risk of avalanche. 

"It's one of the tools we use to do avalanche mitigation work ... It's to get to areas where there is hazard from above," he said.

Wright said Avalaunchers use nitrogen to propel one to two kilograms of explosives into the mountain slope, using a target pressure anywhere from 80 to 210 PSI (pound force per square inch).

The new machine is part of the resort's latest equipment upgrades to improve upon the Avalaunchers it purchased in the 80s. Currently, the resort has two primary machines used on Timber and Lizard Bowls and a few secondary machines used on Snake Ridge and Currie Bowl.

Wright said replacing Lizard Bowl's Avalauncher is next on the list. 

The Avalauncher was invented in the early 1960s by Frank Parsoneault, an engineer for Douglas Aircrafts in the U.S. Fernie Alpine Resort, formerly Snow Valley Ski Resort, purchased its first machine in 1974, a Mark 16 Tray Loader that serviced Lizard and Cedar Bowls. When the resort expanded to Timber Bowl in 1998, it added another machine on that side. 

Wright said the resort's four Avalauncher guns may shoot up to 28 rounds per morning on busy days, and between 400 to 900 rounds per year.