This avalanche was brought down by avalanche technicians using explosives at Summit Lake on January 14. “After the avalanche paths have been cleaned out and the techs say it’s okay, we (HMC employees) go in and clean them up to reopen the road,” said Murray Wallach, who took this remarkable photo. “One quick path is made through them to get to the next paths and using multiple loaders, usually two or three, we do more cleanup to get the road cleaned out two lanes wide. Once two lanes are clear the road is reopened.“ He said that’s when traffic control is set up in a small area with up to 20-minute delays to clean up the rest of the deposits. “This can last up to 12 hours or more just for the avalanche paths west of Revelstoke,” Wallach said. “This particular shot was of the first loader making a path through so that I could get to the other side where my loader was waiting for me. There is also one more loader working the paths behind us getting it open to two lanes.” Murray Wallach photo
