REWIND ALTA AVALANCHE ARTILLERY Words and Photo Lee Cohen T he 105 recoilless rifle, also known as the M40, a US-made, Korean War to Vietnam era piece of artillery, was in action at Alta Ski Area, Utah for avalanche control work from 1974 until 2014. Far left under the barrel is Onno Wieringa, an Alta em-ployee since 1972 until he recently retired. He began his career as a ski patroller, worked his way up to Snow Safety director, then General Manager, then eventually GM and President of Alta Ski Area. He was a hands-on boss, still get-ting up at 4 AM to shoot the gun until he retired. The running joke is that by the end of his career he had fired more rounds out of the 105 than anyone in the U.S. Army. 030 The Ski Journal
The Ski Journal Volume 13, Issue 3: Page 30
