Bridger Range

testing

We headed out to the Bridgers this morning with 13" (1.4" SWE) and more on the way. It may have been April Fool's Day but this was no joke - it is deep out there! We rode out to the Throne and made our way up the East Ridge. On top of the foot of fresh, it snowed around 3-5" in the three hours we were out there.

Our main concerns today were dry loose, storm slab, and wind slab avalanches. We were able to trigger small, loose snow avalanches on steeper slopes in the upper 6" of snow. In one steeper roll over, I got shooting cracks and a small storm slab to break at my ski tips. We did not see other cracking in the recent snow. Visibility was very limited, but we saw one small, filled-in crown near steep, rocky terrain just above the top of the Throne. Winds were blowing all day but were not noticeably drifting snow at mid-elevations. 

When we dug down and performed quick stability tests, we got a mix of ECTNs and propagation (ECTP 10, 11) on a hardness change within the storm snow about 12" deep. We noted this hardness change throughout the day. At lower elevations it was only 3-4" deep, while at upper elevations, closer to a foot. 

Lower down on the E Face, we saw a glide crack that had opened likely after the warm temperatures from last week. 

It seemed like the snow would run with a ski cut but would be within the storm snow, leaving 4 inches or so on the bed surface. It was fairly sensitive but cornice drops didn’t guarantee an avalanche. Things ran quite a ways with explosives like r2.5-3

Heavy, wet slide of recent snow released while skiing off South Saddle. The photo is from South Central. Photo: E. Volk

Heavy, wet slide of recent snow released while skiing off South Saddle. The photo is from South Central. Photo: E. Volk

Heavy, wet slide of recent snow released while skiing off South Saddle. Photo is from South Central.

"Skied the north chutes above fairy lake around 8,400 ft. Found 8-12" of new snow, with the bottom 2" consisting of large graupel. In steep terrain our sluff entrained lots of snow making for some large debris piles. Overall the snow was generally well bonded." Photo: S. Lipsteuer