Bridger Range

I rode into Fairy Lake. There was 2-3” of new snow above the elevation of Fairy Lake, a trace below. Winds were cranking at ridge top elevation, transporting what soft snow there was. Minimal hazard formation. I spotted one fresh wind slab avalanche near Hardscrabble. The slide ran several hundred feet in steep terrain but was very thin (R1,D1). 

There was a mostly supportable crust below the new snow about 1” thick. The snow below the crust was moist. 

We rode into Fairy Lake and climbed up to the Great One. Surface conditions ranged from gloppy, wet snow to firm, dry wind slabs with very little powder in between. There had been a fair amount of wind-slab and wet loose avalanche activity in the area over the weekend, but things were quite today. We had a report of a human-triggered wind slab avalanche in the Great One on Saturday. 

By 11:00 AM a layer of high clouds moved overhead and limited the melt-down input from the sun. Ambient temperatures reaching 50 degrees F didn't do the snow quality any favors at mid and low elevations but additionally didn't result in any natural wet snow avalanches that I saw. 

Wind-slabs were relatively thin (a couple inches to 8" thick). We did get cracking in a few drifts that was limited to the area directly influenced by our skis. We dug at the top of the Great One with unremarkable results and proceeded down the run. 

Tomorrow looks to be cooler with limited snow accumulation. If this forecast pans out, triggering an avalanche will be unlikely. Let's hope for more snow than is in the forecast!

"We went on a tour in the Bridgers today [Apr 5], we ascended the east ridge of Naya Nuki to the entrance of the Great One. Wind was blowing and we were being careful about potential wind slabs up high.

From BBSP: " At 2.45?pm [Apr 5] a... solo skier triggered a wind loaded pocket on the main face of Saddle Peak that ran down over the cliff and produced an impressive powder cloud.... I met him... and confirm he was alone and no one was in front of him. The avalanche looked to be 2' deep on the southern flank and 5" deep on the northern flank... It entrained more snow on the way down, one 2' deep downhill wind loaded pocket and some loose wet snow. It ran into the bottom of the going home chute, gouging a large hole and then 100ft downhill left a 200ft by 30ft wide shallow debris pile."

(Apr 5) "...Also observed one small wind slab occurring between Saddle & the Football Field, possibly skier-triggered." Photo: G. Antonioli