Thanks, NDOT!

Us ski bums would like to say thank you to the Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT) for keeping Mt. Rose summit open year-round. Last year, AAME and PK Electrical helped provide mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (propane) design for the replacement proprietary “Gazex” Avalanche Control System positioned high above the valley floor on the slopes of the Mt. Rose summit. The structure, rife with explosion proof provisions, utilizes percussion to shake loose the snow load of concern, onto the highway, so that avalanches and their subsequent clean-up efforts can be controlled and timed in a predictable manner on NDOT’s terms as opposed to Mother Nature’s terms. All this to keep the public and NDOT workers safe and so that the Mt. Rose summit can remain the highest year-round maintained mountain pass in the Sierra Nevada mountains (State Route 431 at an elevation of 8,911 feet). Due to its remote nature, helicopters and “rugged contractors” were needed to complete this project, often during one of those Sierra Nevada snow events. Of course, building a commercial structure on the side of a mountain is challenging from a central utilities perspective, so the design involved heavy coordination with utilities involving propane storage and delivery, radio-frequency communication of critical sensing points, and an off grid solar/battery power system. Cheers to the late March/April snowstorms, we know you’re coming! (but our roads will be maintained)