Bridger Range

Triggered a small slide (r2 d2) in a north east facing chute at around 8300 ft. The slide was triggered on a ski cut through a wind loaded drift and propagated about 15 or 20 ft wide. It about 6 in deep on the edges and two feet in the loaded area. We observed several other signs of instability throughout the day, most wind loaded terrain was touchy and easy to rip off with slabs anywhere from 6 in deep to two or three feet deep. All signs of instability originated from the interface between the new snow from the last few days and facets from the last high pressure system. 

From Bridger Bowl: "On December 15th, 2024 at 12:09 p.m., a skier in open terrain was caught and buried by an avalanche in the Papa Bear region below Bridger Gully. The skier, who was with a partner, was buried just below the snow surface and was able to punch a hole up through the top of the snow. The skier's partner and other members of the skiing public responded quickly and were able to extricate the uninjured skier.

Although rare, inbounds avalanches may happen and are defined in the skier's responsibility code as an inherent risk of skiing, even within ski area boundaries. We share this as a reminder of the importance of skiing and riding with a partner, especially in deep snow conditions."

Notes about snowpack:

Slide was 8 inches deep, 450 feet wide, and broke within the storm snow 2 inches above the new snow/old snow interface. Trigger unknown.

The Alpine weather station received 2.5" snow = 0.2" SWE from 2200 on 12/14 to 0300 on 12/15, then intense snowfall from 0700 to 1200 added 7" and 1"SWE for a storm total of 9.5"=1.2"SWE over 14 hours as of noon.

These avalanches were reported yesterday 12/15 by ski patrol who heard them run and saw debris around 1230. They broke naturally towards the end of a period of heavy snowfall that totaled 10"=1.22" SWE. Photos taken 12/16 at 1045-1100.