Regional Conditions for Bridgers

This natural avalanche appears to have broke 3-5' deep on weak snow near the ground sometime between 2/16 and 2/18/2020. Photo: GNFAC

These natural avalanches appear to have broke 3-5' deep on weak snow near the ground sometime between 2/16 and 2/19/2020. Photo: GNFAC

"I had been riding trees most of the day down low and moved up to about mile marker 10 later in the day. Did a side hill through open trees and stopped on top of this slope. Watched it all propagate and slide below me." Photo: anonymous

"...picture is a close up of the avalanche on the ridge between Elephant and Blackmore on a south aspect. This one was the largest and the most fresh. All avalanches appeared to be naturally triggered from wind loading." Photo: T. Chingas

"looking at Alex Lowe Peak from the west ridge of Elephant. There were 5 avalanches clearly visible. I highlighted the crowns/debris paths with red." Photo: T. Chingas

"Toured up Blackmore today... Also saw the wheeler mountain avalanches from a few days ago." Photo: Mike Murray

"Toured up Blackmore today, we had shooting cracks under our feet along the north east ridge line." Photo: Mike Murray

"We came across the debris of a significant slide in one of the steeper lines just north of Wolverine bowl today. There was zero new fallen snow on the debris so it happened sometime this morning before 11:30 a.m. and after the snowfall stopped last night. The multiple crowns looked to be 3-5 feet tall and a large tree has been jammed into the tube ride chute. The toe of the debris is all the way down into the creek at the base of Wolverine. It's possible a large cornice broke off at the ridgeline but we couldn't get eyes on the actual start of the slide. We skinned up and down the debris pile twice while in search mode at around 12:30 but did not pick up a signal. We did not investigate above the pinch of the chute and into the upper part of the slide. The debris pile is quite deep with some damaged trees. We did 6 lines off the ramp over the weekend and did not see any other avalanche activity but obviously some significant wind loading." Photo: Ray K

"We came across the debris of a significant slide in one of the steeper lines just north of Wolverine bowl today. There was zero new fallen snow on the debris so it happened sometime this morning before 11:30 a.m. and after the snowfall stopped last night. The multiple crowns looked to be 3-5 feet tall and a large tree has been jammed into the tube ride chute. The toe of the debris is all the way down into the creek at the base of Wolverine. It's possible a large cornice broke off at the ridgeline but we couldn't get eyes on the actual start of the slide. We skinned up and down the debris pile twice while in search mode at around 12:30 but did not pick up a signal. We did not investigate above the pinch of the chute and into the upper part of the slide. The debris pile is quite deep with some damaged trees. We did 6 lines off the ramp over the weekend and did not see any other avalanche activity but obviously some significant wind loading." Photo: Ray K

"We came across the debris of a significant slide in one of the steeper lines just north of Wolverine bowl today. There was zero new fallen snow on the debris so it happened sometime this morning before 11:30 a.m. and after the snowfall stopped last night. The multiple crowns looked to be 3-5 feet tall and a large tree has been jammed into the tube ride chute. The toe of the debris is all the way down into the creek at the base of Wolverine. It's possible a large cornice broke off at the ridgeline but we couldn't get eyes on the actual start of the slide. We skinned up and down the debris pile twice while in search mode at around 12:30 but did not pick up a signal. We did not investigate above the pinch of the chute and into the upper part of the slide. The debris pile is quite deep with some damaged trees. We did 6 lines off the ramp over the weekend and did not see any other avalanche activity but obviously some significant wind loading." Photo: Ray K

We came across the debris of a significant slide in one of the steeper lines just north of Wolverine bowl today. There was zero new fallen snow on the debris so it happened sometime this morning before 11:30 a.m. and after the snowfall stopped last night. The multiple crowns looked to be 3-5 feet tall and a large tree has been jammed into the tube ride chute. The toe of the debris is all the way down into the creek at the base of Wolverine. It's possible a large cornice broke off at the ridgeline but we couldn't get eyes on the actual start of the slide. We skinned up and down the debris pile twice while in search mode at around 12:30 but did not pick up a signal. We did not investigate above the pinch of the chute and into the upper part of the slide. The debris pile is quite deep with some damaged trees. We did 6 lines off the ramp over the weekend and did not see any other avalanche activity but obviously some significant wind loading. Photo: Ray K

"We came across the debris of a significant slide in one of the steeper lines just north of Wolverine bowl today. There was zero new fallen snow on the debris so it happened sometime this morning before 11:30 a.m. and after the snowfall stopped last night. The multiple crowns looked to be 3-5 feet tall and a large tree has been jammed into the tube ride chute. The toe of the debris is all the way down into the creek at the base of Wolverine. It's possible a large cornice broke off at the ridgeline but we couldn't get eyes on the actual start of the slide. We skinned up and down the debris pile twice while in search mode at around 12:30 but did not pick up a signal. We did not investigate above the pinch of the chute and into the upper part of the slide. The debris pile is quite deep with some damaged trees. We did 6 lines off the ramp over the weekend and did not see any other avalanche activity but obviously some significant wind loading." Photo: Ray K

"Slide occurred on north aspect of Mt Blackmore at 9200ft. Photo provides close-up view and width of crown." Photo: Laura Ippolito

"Slide occurred on north aspect of Mt Blackmore at 9200ft. Photo was taken at the end of the runout." Photo: Laura Ippolito

"Slide occurred north northwest aspect of Mt Blackmore at 9400ft in a narrow meadow. This provides width of slide." Photo: Laura Ippolito

"Slide occurred north northwest aspect of Mt Blackmore at 9400ft in a narrow meadow. Close-up view of an approximate 8" crown." Photo" L. Ippolito

Photo of the Divide Basin avalanche that was likely triggered by a cornice fall on Friday, Feb 14. Photo: Nick Truax

Photo of the Divide Basin avalanche that was likely triggered by a cornice fall on Friday, Feb 14. Photo: Nick Truax

From an observation, "R3-4 D2 avalanche that failed at the ground observed from the Trail Creek Rd. Looked to be several hundred feet wide, couldn’t see the debris, but crown went through lots of trees." Photo: Chris Cullaz

From an observation, "R3-4 D2 avalanche that failed at the ground observed from the Trail Creek Rd. Looked to be several hundred feet wide, couldn’t see the debris, but crown went through lots of trees." Photo: Chris Cullaz

We skied Wheeler via South Cottonwood and found that the two gullies on the East and South East aspects had recently run in their entirety. We could only see the crown on the South East gully but it appeared to have broke on the steepest part of the slope near the top approximate 3-4ft deep and was the width of the gully. Both avalanches ran the full length and width of their gullies, breaking several trees along the way. The East debris pile was about 25ft deep and the South East was 15ft deep. The East rounded the corner into the ravine at the bottom and also ran about 200ft into the forest. A couple larger trees in the path that were not broken had their branches stripped off the bottom 30ft. Interestingly, the narrow meadow between the South East gully and the South East meadow you recently reported slides on has not slid. Also, we had no propagation or collapsing in our pits. Photo: Alan Cleary

We skied Wheeler via South Cottonwood and found that the two gullies on the East and South East aspects had recently run in their entirety. We could only see the crown on the South East gully but it appeared to have broke on the steepest part of the slope near the top approximate 3-4ft deep and was the width of the gully. Both avalanches ran the full length and width of their gullies, breaking several trees along the way. The East debris pile was about 25ft deep and the South East was 15ft deep. The East rounded the corner into the ravine at the bottom and also ran about 200ft into the forest. A couple larger trees in the path that were not broken had their branches stripped off the bottom 30ft. Interestingly, the narrow meadow between the South East gully and the South East meadow you recently reported slides on has not slid. Also, we had no propagation or collapsing in our pits. Photo: Alan Cleary

We skied Wheeler via South Cottonwood and found that the two gullies on the East and South East aspects had recently run in their entirety. We could only see the crown on the South East gully but it appeared to have broke on the steepest part of the slope near the top approximate 3-4ft deep and was the width of the gully. Both avalanches ran the full length and width of their gullies, breaking several trees along the way. The East debris pile was about 25ft deep and the South East was 15ft deep. The East rounded the corner into the ravine at the bottom and also ran about 200ft into the forest. A couple larger trees in the path that were not broken had their branches stripped off the bottom 30ft. Interestingly, the narrow meadow between the South East gully and the South East meadow you recently reported slides on has not slid. Also, we had no propagation or collapsing in our pits. Photo: Alan Cleary

From an observation, "This activity appears to have occurred naturally. No signs of a skin track or skiing. No accurate indication of when it happened, tho appeared fairly recent with no new wind loading." Photo: R. Siberrel

From an observation, "This activity appears to have occurred naturally. No signs of a skin track or skiing. No accurate indication of when it happened, tho appeared fairly recent with no new wind loading." Photo: R. Siberrel

Picture taken on Alex Lowe Peak from Mount Blackmore. This is the second time this avalanche path released. See a photo from 1/25/20 HERE.  Photo: Zane Heaton

Skied the NE shoulder of Divide Peak. Spotted a 1/4 to 1/2 mile long crown spotted along the NE face of Peak 10,024, between Divide Peak and Hyalite Peak. We could not directly determine the crown height, but it was highly visible from our location ~1 mile away. Photo: Tom Kalakay

Explore Big Sky wrote an article on the new beacon checker at the Beehive Trailhead near Big Sky. It was a collaboration between the Friends of the Avalanche Center, the GNFAC and the Big Sky Community Organization.

Photo: @letemrun23

Photo: @letemrun23

"...today we toured into an east aspect in the N. Madison. Winds were stronger than we anticipated, already western sides of ridges had been scoured to near bare ground. While skinning along the ridge we intentionally triggered large wind drifts and small cornices. We dug a pit on a south/south east aspect and got ectp 25. While skiing a low angle meadow back out to the ridge a member of our party remote triggered a small slide on a wind loaded pocket on an east aspect. According to my partner it was 75 ft wide and maybe a 1-2 feet deep. Conditions seemed to become more touchy thru out the day due to the high winds." Photo: Alex Palombo

"I observed this collapse & propagation as I stepped over some wood in the skinner on the north ridge of Mount Ellis this morning, ~8000’, due East. I was tailing Chabot and his partner, and they had passed this way just minutes before." Photo: D. Rider

One large avalanche (photos attached) ripped mid-storm and deposited debris into the meadow to approximately 50m of the temporary WX station. Estimated as "SS-N-R3-D3-S” with multiple snapped trees in the debris (one 20’+ tall). Couldn’t get eyes on the whole crown, but it appeared to have ripped up near the ridge 3-4’ deep and cascaded over the cliffs triggering deeper avalanches in the aprons below before running well into the flats. A foot of new snow has covered the debris making it harder to clearly delineate its extent. Photo: Z Miller

One large avalanche (photos attached) ripped mid-storm and deposited debris into the meadow to approximately 50m of the temporary WX station. Estimated as "SS-N-R3-D3-S” with multiple snapped trees in the debris (one 20’+ tall). Couldn’t get eyes on the whole crown, but it appeared to have ripped up near the ridge 3-4’ deep and cascaded over the cliffs triggering deeper avalanches in the aprons below before running well into the flats. A foot of new snow has covered the debris making it harder to clearly delineate its extent. Photo: Z Miller

On 2/9/20 we saw deep avalanche crowns throughout the Bridger Range. These broke at various times throughout the recent storm that deposited 4 feet of snow with over 4" of SWE in the last week. This photo shows debris from avalanches that broke across the entire drainage of Truman Gulch. Photo: GNFAC

On 2/9/20 we saw deep avalanche crowns throughout the Bridger Range. These broke at various times throughout the recent storm that deposited 4 feet of snow with over 4" of SWE in the last week. This photo shows crowns from avalanches that broke across the entire drainage of Truman Gulch. Photo: GNFAC

On 2/9/20 we saw deep avalanche crowns throughout the Bridger Range. These broke at various times throughout the recent storm that deposited 4 feet of snow with over 4" of SWE in the last week. This photo shows debris from avalanches that broke across the entire drainage of Truman Gulch. Photo: GNFAC

Today we went hunting for avalanche crowns in the Bridger Range and found some big ones. Avalanches broke deep across most slopes along the entire east and west sides of the range. Some of the most impressive were in Truman Gulch. Stay alert for the possibility to trigger these big slides. Keep the smooth bed surfaces in mind as potential future weak layer when they get reloaded. Photo: GNFAC

On 2/9/20 we saw deep avalanche crowns throughout the Bridger Range . These broke at various times throughout the recent storm that deposited 4 feet of snow with over 4" of SWE in the last week. This photo shows a group of slides near Flathead Pass on NE aspects around 7,500'. Photo: GNFAC