Bridger Range

Skier triggered wind slab avalanche on Saddle Peak. Photo: BBSP

Toured up around fairy lake today, winds were ripping all day. Saw several d1 soft slabs in upper elevation terrain, many of them running quite far. We opted ski a lower elevation zone and were surprised to find a soft slab (d1/r1) that ran on an east facing slope at about 7500’ and about 500-600 ft below the ridge line on a slope just over 30 degrees. 

Took the ridge out to Bridger Peak. Winds have done their damage and skiing conditions were quite bad. Winds had affected snow at nearly all elevations.

Snow depths on SE and NE aspects were 120 cm, and the snowpack is dense, hard, solid, and stable. We couldn't find any evidence of near-surface facets from recent cold weather and clear days/nights. The combination of wind and warmth destroyed them if they existed. 

On south aspects, the snow had become wet, and we spotted a few rollerballs/pinwheels - mostly near exposed rocks.

In the Playground area of the Bridger Range, strong winds rapidly built wind slabs up to 25 cm deep around treeline. Skiers experienced a few cracks in this wind slab, propagating 2 or 3 meters from our ski tips. Photo: N. deLeeuw

Skiers triggered a small wind slab avalanche while skinning near the top of Pair Of Chutes in the Playground. The slab was about 1 foot thick, fist hardness, propagated 20 feet wide and ran 50 feet before breaking up and arresting. Photo: J. Taylor