Inspection & Maintenance of Critical Infrastructure

Project Description

In Glacier National Park, the Cougar Corner avalanche paths affect the Trans-Canada highway approximately 10 km west of Rogers Pass. In 2016, Parks Canada tendered a project to design and install approximately 2000 m of snow nets (avalanche fences) in three separate avalanche paths to mitigate the risk of avalanches impacting the highway.

Alpine Solutions completed design and field layout that included accessing steep and convoluted terrain using a combination of helicopter and rope access system. The project was completed in 2017.

Alpine Solutions is responsible for the inspection and maintenance of this critical infrastructure.

Since their installation, the Geobrugg Spider snow nets must be annually inspected and maintained to preserve their long-term functionality.

Project Requirements

The project required engineering oversight and a certified rope access team to complete annual inspection and maintenance of the Geobrugg snow nets.

The work required access to the steep terrain and perform technical work in challenging locations.

Since the original installation, Alpine Solutions has carried out annual inspections of the system. Beginning in 2023, Alpine Solutions expanded its role to include full maintenance operations to ensure the long-term reliability of the snow nets