Tower 3 Traditional Cache
chrisoutdoors: It's as reported. found the swag as mentioned but the cache container and log book are missing. I really don;t understand how that happens. Nonetheless - this one has had a good run, I'm going to open the spot up to new caches or consider a few new ones for here. Thanks for visiting everyone.
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(small)
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A quick stop near the summit of Kootenay Pass. Dubbed the "Kootenay Skyway" when it opened in the 1960's, this is the highest year-round highway in Canada.
Did you know that this 8 kilometre section of Highway 3 accounts for 25% of all the avalanche related road closures in BC? A large avalanche can drop over two million cubic metres of snow and bury the highway up to six metres deep (that's almost 20 feet!)
Since the 1970's this structure and others like it were used to control avalanches in the Kootenay Pass area. Avalanche technicians used an artillery shell / compressed gas system called an Avalauncher, which is still in use in the Roger's Pass area near Revelstoke. This structure would have provided shelter for the system and technicians, as well as providing an elevated launching platform. The main drawbacks to this system were safety concerns - for example, unexploded shells in the alpine, inaccuracy in high winds, and the amount of time it could take to clear the pass of potential slides (up to eight hours, during which the highway would have to be closed.)
These days, a fully automated system called a Gaz.ex system, delivers a highly accurate concussive explosion directly to problem slide areas. The design of this system places exploders - which look like big horns - directly in avalanche paths. This means the entire Kootenay Pass area can be cleared of avalanches in about an hour (not including clean up). This system increases safety, efficiency and accuracy. Alas, that makes structures such as this one obsolete.
The cache is very near to the base of the structure. There is parking off of the highway quite nearby, on the south side of the highway. This one will not be available in the winter due to the metres and metres of snow this area gets.
*************UPDATE Summer 2011***************
Well, unfortunately the structure has been removed, I'm guessing because it was no longer needed and because of liability concerns as well. Luckily the cache survived the removal and remains in the same spot. This still remains a nice spot to pull over and take in the views. Thanks to bajabetty who checked on this one for me!
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Tebhaq Yriry, HCF, vafvqr sbhaqngvba crezvzrgre