This natural avalanche occured on a wind loaded slope on Lone Mountain late Friday night. It is notable because Big Sky is not open, and the snowpack there is similar to the snowpack in other high alpine locations. This avalanche broke near the ground about 3 feet deep and 500 feet across. It ran about 1000 feet and deposited snow 6 feet deep at the toe of the debris.
Three skiers were caught in this avalanche as they climbed to the top of Granite Peak in the Tobacco Root Mountains, just outside the advisory area. Avalanche debris can be seen about 1000ft below the skier in this photo. Read the full story in the Accidents section of the website.
Three skiers were caught in an avalanche on the east face of Granite Peak in the Tobacco Root Mountains. All were caught on their ascent and spit out of the avalanche as it carried them over a talus slope.
Four skiers caught and partially buried while boot packing up a couloir above Gem Lake near Trapper Peak in the Bitterroot Range south of Missoula.
Since last weekend numerous avalanches have been reported. On Saturday, October 24th a notable avalanche occurred near Trapper Peak south of Missoula where four skiers were caught and partially buried. The West Central Montana Avalanche Center collected an excellent report from one of the skiers worth reading:
http://www.mtavalanche.com/sites/default/files/Gem%20Lake%20Avalanche%20102409.pdf
A skier in this couloir triggered a small slab 6-10 inches deep and 15ft wide. He was not buried but he was bruised and lost some gear as the avalanche carried him over rocks. Couloirs like this in the Bridgers often get wind loaded from snow coming off the slabs on the right side of the couloir. This loading makes such couloirs skiable in the early season, but also increases the avalanche risk. This group noticed some cracking on their ascent along the edge of the snow, but continued anyway and admitted they shouldn't have ignored this important clue.
Friday, November 6th help celebrate the upcoming winter season and raise money and awareness for the Friends of the Avalanche Center.
With such cold weather and abundant snowfall, avalanches are a very real possibility. A human triggered avalanche occurred on October 6th in the Bridger Range on Sacajawea near the summer trail breaking on the interface from the October 1st storm. On Saturday, October 24th a group of four skiers was caught in an avalanche near Trapper Peak south of Missoula. The West Central Montana Avalanche Center collected an excellent report from one of the skiers: http://www.
The first nine days of October have been more winter-like than many Januarys. In the last 24 hours 4-6 inches have fallen. This brings the total snowfall since October 1st to 2 ½ feet in the northern areas and 1-1 ½ feet around Cooke City and West Yellowstone. People have been out skiing and boarding all week with some finding better lines than others. On Tuesday we got our first reported avalanche of the season. A skier triggered a slide in the Bridger Range in Sacajewea Bowl. It was a wind loaded, meaty slab that broke a foot deep, 50-75' wide and a few hundred feet verti
This slide ran a couple hundred feet vertical. The windy conditions and snow loading are obvious. Photo: Chelan Babineau-Z
