Regional Conditions for Bridgers

From email:

"I wanted to make you aware of a snowmobile triggered slide in Lionhead today. Fortunately, I was not injured, was able to stay completely on top, climbed through the majority of the snow wash after seeing it begin to break, and relatively slowly slid down with the last of the moving snow while still on the machine. When I came to a stop, I stood up and was completely free of the snow. Our group is trained in avalanche safety, practiced beacon use prior to leaving town in the morning, were wearing avy gear, and were very fortunate that this ended up the way it did. 

A clear reminder that this can happen to any of us and to be careful out there."

Photo: Anonymous 

A skier was skinning uphill, breaking trail and triggered this avalanche on 1/19/20. They reported, " released a small pocket near texas meadow. Maybe 50 ft wide, 2 ft crown and ran 150 ft....I was not caught and nobody was buried or injured. I was skinning up at about 1130...I got to where it was steeper and as I reached thinner snow near rocks I felt a whump. I took one more step and the pocket released."

A skier was skinning uphill, breaking trail and triggered this avalanche on 1/19/20. They reported, " released a small pocket near texas meadow. Maybe 50 ft wide, 2 ft crown and ran 150 ft....I was not caught and nobody was buried or injured. I was skinning up at about 1130...I got to where it was steeper and as I reached thinner snow near rocks I felt a whump. I took one more step and the pocket released."

A skier was skinning uphill, breaking trail and triggered this avalanche on 1/19/20. They reported, " released a small pocket near texas meadow. Maybe 50 ft wide, 2 ft crown and ran 150 ft....I was not caught and nobody was buried or injured. I was skinning up at about 1130...I got to where it was steeper and as I reached thinner snow near rocks I felt a whump. I took one more step and the pocket released."

The crown of this snowmobiler triggered avalanche tapered to a thin slab. These thin areas of the slope are prime zones to trigger a slide from. Photo: GNFAC

This big natural avalanche broke late on 1/17/20 or early 1/18/20 after strong wind and new snow (1" SWE) heavily loaded slopes. Photo: GNFAC

Natural avalanche on 1/16 near Hardscrabble Peak in the Northern Bridgers.

From observation: "At some point between 12:00 and 15:00 a large natural slide occurred in 'October Bowl'. My partner and I saw no tracks in the area. We witnessed a large amount of snow being deposited on that aspect throughout the day. In the photos you can see the crown from 01/16 and the new crown up and to the right."

Photo: R. Griffiths

Natural avalanche on 1/17 near Hardscrabble Peak in the Northern Bridgers.

From observation: "At some point between 12:00 and 15:00 a large natural slide occurred in 'October Bowl'. My partner and I saw no tracks in the area. We witnessed a large amount of snow being deposited on that aspect throughout the day. In the photos you can see the crown from 01/16 and the new crown up and to the right."

Photo: R. Griffiths

"... while touring in the Northern Bridgers, my partner and I noticed a very large avalanche that occurred on a North face in "October Bowl" just to the south of Hardscrabble Pk. We didn't witness it and are unsure of a trigger, but we came in contact with all parties believed to be out there and assume it occurred naturally early this morning from heavy wind-loading. The crown seemed to be 2-3' deep but stepped down to the ground about 200' below the crown. The slide was about 400' in width and ran about 1,000' and we assumed classifications of R3.5 and D3. Debris pile was expansive and deep, and prompted us to stick to Southern aspects."  Photo: McKinley Talty

"... while touring in the Northern Bridgers, my partner and I noticed a very large avalanche that occurred on a North face in "October Bowl" just to the south of Hardscrabble Pk. We didn't witness it and are unsure of a trigger, but we came in contact with all parties believed to be out there and assume it occurred naturally early this morning from heavy wind-loading. The crown seemed to be 2-3' deep but stepped down to the ground about 200' below the crown. The slide was about 400' in width and ran about 1,000' and we assumed classifications of R3.5 and D3. Debris pile was expansive and deep, and prompted us to stick to Southern aspects."  Photo: McKinley Talty

From e-mail: "Skiers triggered two separate slides on south Saddle this afternoon. we witnessed the smaller slide to the lookers right of the big slide, the bigger one happened later apparently... The first smaller slide was caused by a ski cut near the trees, fracture was about 2 feet, soft slab that seemed to run on a thin sun crust. below the sun crust was also very weak and sugary. Not sure when the second skier went farther out and triggered the whole bowl, but they got lucky!!" Photo: T. Andersen

From e-mail: "Skiers triggered two separate slides on south Saddle this afternoon. we witnessed the smaller slide to the lookers right of the big slide, the bigger one happened later apparently... The first smaller slide was caused by a ski cut near the trees, fracture was about 2 feet, soft slab that seemed to run on a thin sun crust. below the sun crust was also very weak and sugary. Not sure when the second skier went farther out and triggered the whole bowl, but they got lucky!!" Photo: T. Andersen

Skier triggered avalanche in Argentina Bowl on Saddle Peak. Observed from the highway. Occurred during the day on Wednesday, 1/15/2020. Photo: GNFAC

Skier triggered wind slab reported north of Bridger Bowl on 13 January. Photo: B. Henry

Skier triggered wind slab reported north of Bridger Bowl on 13 January. Photo: B. Henry

These natural avalanches likely occurred on Saturday, January 11. New snow and wind loaded slopes and we saw other slides as we rode around. Photo: GNFAC

This natural avalanche in 3rd Yellowmule on Buck Ridge likely occurred on Saturday, January 11. It was a wind loaded and very steep slope. It broke on facets near the ground and was big enough to bury a person (D2). The size was 2-3' deep, 200' wide and 75' vertical. Photo: GNFAC

This natural avalanche in 3rd Yellowmule on Buck Ridge likely occurred on Saturday, January 11. It was a wind loaded and very steep slope. It broke on facets near the ground and was big enough to bury a person (D2). The size was 2-3' deep, 200' wide and 75' vertical. Photo: GNFAC

February 1, King and Queen of the Ridge at Bridger Bowl (fundraiser). This is the Friends of the Avalanche Center’s second biggest fundraiser of the year. Come on out and help us raise money by hiking and skiing laps on the ridge. Prizes, camaraderie and a good time is guaranteed. Register with Bridger to hike in the event, and create a pledge page to raise funds with your Ridge laps.

We visited the avalanche that was triggered by a snowmobiler and partially buried 2 people on January 4th. The crown was 10 feet at the deepest part. Photo: GNFAC

This slide was triggered by Bridger Bowl ski patrol during control work on Saturday (1/4/2020). It shows deeply buried persistent weak layers from early October and November were pushed to a breaking point by the recent snow and wind. A person can trigger avalanches like this on heavily wind loaded slopes in the backcountry. Additionally, shallower large avalanches can be triggered on any steep slope. Photo: J. Olson

This slide was triggered by Bridger Bowl ski patrol during control work on Saturday (1/4/2020). It shows deeply buried persistent weak layers from early October and November were pushed to a breaking point by the recent snow and wind. A person can trigger avalanches like this on heavily wind loaded slopes in the backcountry. Additionally, shallower large avalanches can be triggered on any steep slope. Photo: BBSP

This slide was triggered by Bridger Bowl ski patrol during control work on Saturday (1/4/2020). It shows deeply buried persistent weak layers from early October and November were pushed to a breaking point by the recent snow and wind. A person can trigger avalanches like this on heavily wind loaded slopes in the backcountry. Additionally, shallower large avalanches can be triggered on any steep slope. Photo: BBSP

Skiers saw this debris and crown in 'Avalanche Bowl' near Fairy Lake on Friday (1/3/20). Photo: S. Mooney

We saw this avalanche crown on our drive up Bridger Canyon on Friday (1/3). It looks at least 3' deep and broke near the ridge on a heavily wind loaded slope. Photo: GNFAC

This small wind slab was remotely triggered while skinning into the Maid of the Mist basin. Throughout the day they continued to encounter other small, reactive wind slabs and strong winds. Small avalanches are a warning sign that larger ones are possible. Photo: Sam Wilson

Although there was 3' of snow at 8,200' on the Throne, the snowpack was very thin for most of the way in. Photo: GNFAC

Riders near Fairy Lake reported this slide on Saturday 12/21. Photo: @turbo_dieshall

From IG message: "5' thick wind slab just behind little bear remote triggered riding along the ridge." @skidooin_it

From an email, "... our party observed several small to medium-sized releases that occured on a heavily-loaded east aspect overnight. None stepped down in the snowpack, but they certainly could have taken a person for a ride. Overalll, stability seemed to be good, with the exception of isolated wind-loaded areas." Photo S. Reinsel

This avalanche crown was seen Wednesday (12/18), and probably ran a day or two prior. Photo: GNFAC

This avalanche crown was seen Wednesday (12/18), and probably ran a day or two prior. Photo: GNFAC

From Obs: "Out poking around the Northern Bridgers today and found some really terrible structure... We dug a couple of pits and both exhibited terrible structure with pronounced facet layers between the most recent pair of melt-freeze and rain crusts.

Results from one of the pits were: 7900' NE aspect 33 degree slope HS95cm (photo included)
- ECTP12@60cm on 2mm well developed facets below most recent M/F crust
- Weak facetted layer is 5cm thick 4F- hardness
- Slab above is a 4F to 1F hardness slab of new graupel and decomposing grains on top of the 1F+ M/F crust..." 

Photo: Z. Miller

We went to look at the snowpack on Saddle Peak in the backcountry south of Bridger Bowl (12/5/19). Heavily wind loaded slopes have hard slabs over weak facets. Unfortunately this poor snowpack structure will be with us for a while in the backcountry. It will not get compacted by skier traffic or show obvious signs of instability. SKi patrol triggered this slide just inside their boundary. This is the first time they have done control this season, so it is a glimpse of what we might find in the uncontrolled backcountry snowpack. Photo: GNFAC

This large avalanche was triggered intentionally by the Bridger Bowl Ski Patrol at the ridgeline above little Slushman's Ravine. They were cutting a cornice and it broke 7 feet back from the edge, 4 feet deep and 150 feet wide. It was a hard slab avalanche and ran 1150 feet. It was east facing and broke on a crust formed in the early season. It's code is HS-AC-R2-D3-O-TL. Photo: BBSP

We put up the Taylor Fork weather station today (12/03) and it is churning out hourly data. Check it out here: https://www.mtavalanche.com/weather/stations/taylor-fork

We partnered with the Gallatin Valley Snowmobile Association to put in two new beacon checkers at the Taylor Fork and Buck Ridge trailheads. They are working great!

Thanks GVSA! Photo: GNFAC

We recognize that backcountry skiing can be daunting to approach. That’s why Ben Goertzen and the Friends of the Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Center have teamed up to help breakdown some of the most prominent barriers of entry to backcountry skiing through this campaign. One lucky winner will be given a complete backcountry skiing kit, a spot in an avalanche awareness course, and featured in a three part video series that ends with an excursion into the backcountry with professional skier and filmmaker, Ben Goertzen . These videos will be used by the Friends of GNFAC to help other aspiring backcountry skiers gain awareness, knowledge and start to breakdown their barriers to entry.

Click Here for More Details on How to Enter

Watch the Backcountry Barriers Launch Video: https://vimeo.com/376473804

We skied in the northern Bridgers (12/2/19), and an unstable test result (ECTP14) prompted us to adjust our travel plans. In the mountains around Bozeman and Big Sky the snowpack is generally stable, and will get more stable without snow the next few days, but it is just as important as ever to carefully assess stability of each slope, each day you plan to ride in avalanche terrain. East aspect. 8,100' elev. Photo: GNFAC