In this spectacular clip, Alaska Railroad crew pull out a massive 105mm Howitzer cannon to fire 5LB TNT charges to deliberately create an avalanche on a mountain miles away! It's unbelievably awesome. The purpose is because crew men noticed signs of avalanche signaling a bunch of snow ready to tumble, so they purposely trigger the avalanche under controlled conditions so they can release it and clean up the snow during a time they know the tracks will be clear of any trains.
Watch how enormous the pile of snow is on the tracks towards the end of the video - 30 FEET HIGH, TREETOP LEVEL!
Railroad Alaska - S01E01 "Frozen Danger"
