Lionhead Range
Widespread Whoomphing in Sheep Creek
Date
Activity
Snowboarding
Toured up Sheep Creek Trail on the West side of the Lionhead Range on 1/11/2025. We heard whoomphing through out our tour in. We stopped counting after 12. Some of these whoomphs seemed relatively far away and very loud. We could not tell if these farther whoomphs were triggered by us. We were the only ones in our location but we did hear snowmobiles in another location near the trailhead. We also felt multiple large collapses on very low angle slopes and skinning across non consequential terrain.
We dug a pit on an East facing aspect below the slope we had planned to ride. The height of snow was about 110 cm and there was a very concerning layer of large facets at 75cm deep going to the ground. There were no other layers of concern in the snowpack we found and the rest of the snowpack was right side up. Our results were CT17 SPQ2 and ECTP26 SCQ1. Bother failures during tests were on the layer of facets and on the CT and ECT our columns easily separated from the facet layer after failure. Due to these observations we opted not to ride our objective and followed our skin track back out to the trailhead.
Region
Lionhead Range
Location (from list)
Sheep Creek
Observer Name
Connor Culver
Wind slab avalanche on Two Top
Two Top
Lionhead Range
Code
SS-N-R1-D1
Aspect
NE
Latitude
44.62320
Longitude
-111.25800
Notes
Number caught
0
Number buried
0
Avalanche Type
Soft slab avalanche
Trigger
Natural trigger
R size
1
D size
1
Problem Type
Wind-Drifted Snow
Snow Observation Source
Slab Thickness units
centimeters
Single / Multiple / Red Flag
Single Avalanche
Advisory Year
Fresh avalanches in Cabin Ck
Cabin Creek
Southern Madison
Code
Latitude
44.89490
Longitude
-111.22800
Notes
Group from Wisconsin spotted 3 very fresh avalanches today. 2 for them near Red Canyon and 1 near Whites Peak. No other info. Might get photos tomorrow.
2 other slightly older slides spotted
Number caught
0
Number buried
0
Snow Observation Source
Slab Thickness units
centimeters
Single / Multiple / Red Flag
Multiple Avalanches
Advisory Year
Fresh avalanches in Cabin Ck
Date
Activity
Snowmobiling
Group from Wisconsin spotted 3 very fresh avalanches today. 2 for them near Red Canyon and 1 near Whites Peak. No other info. Might get photos tomorrow.
2 other slightly older slides spotted
Region
Southern Madison
Location (from list)
Cabin Creek
Observer Name
From R Searle via third party
PST on stubborn PWL near Two Top
Date
Activity
Snowmobiling
Very visible buried surface hoar layer was not producing ECT results so we cut a PST and got 30/100end. HS ranged from 105-135cm on leeward slopes and near 60cm on windward.
Region
Out of Advisory Area
Location (from list)
Two Top
Observer Name
Zach b
Avalanche Airplane Bowl Lionhead
Lionhead Ridge
Lionhead Range
Code
SS-R3-D2-O
Elevation
9300
Aspect
SE
Latitude
44.71450
Longitude
-111.31800
Notes
Riders noted a large avalanche in Airplane Bowl in the Lionhead area.
Number caught
0
Number buried
0
Avalanche Type
Soft slab avalanche
R size
3
D size
2
Bed Surface
O - Old snow
Problem Type
Persistent Slab
Vertical Fall
400ft
Slab Width
600.00ft
Snow Observation Source
Slab Thickness units
centimeters
Single / Multiple / Red Flag
Single Avalanche
Advisory Year
Intentional Skier Triggered Avalanche near Hebgen
Hebgen Lake
Lionhead Range
Code
SS-ASc-G
Elevation
8700
Aspect
E
Latitude
44.84040
Longitude
-111.34100
Notes
Skied above hebgen today, and conditions were similar to what they were a couple days ago. An east facing pit at 8700’ had 85 cm of snow and failed on facets near the ground at ECTP 16. I ski cut a steeper slope and got no result, but my larger-volume partner was able to trigger a slide that broke 40-50’ wide and ran to the ground and through some trees. This was immediately adjacent to the fresh tracks of a very fortuitous skier and their pooch. Subjectively, it seemed like the basal facets had a bit more moisture in them today, but they are not strong yet.
Number caught
0
Number buried
0
Avalanche Type
Soft slab avalanche
Trigger
Skier
Trigger Modifier
c-A controlled or intentional release by the indicated trigger
Bed Surface
G - Ground
Problem Type
Persistent Weak Layer
Slab Width
45.00ft
Snow Observation Source
Slab Thickness units
centimeters
Single / Multiple / Red Flag
Single Avalanche
Advisory Year
Hebgen
Date
Activity
Skiing
Skied above hebgen today, and conditions were similar to what they were a couple days ago. An east facing pit at 8700’ had 85 cm of snow and failed on facets near the ground at ECTP 16. I ski cut a steeper slope and got no result, but my larger-volume partner was able to trigger a slide that broke 40-50’ wide and ran to the ground and through some trees. This was immediately adjacent to the fresh tracks of a very fortuitous skier and their pooch. Subjectively, it seemed like the basal facets had a bit more moisture in them today, but they are not strong yet.
Region
Lionhead Range
Location (from list)
Hebgen Lake
Observer Name
Sam Reinsel