From email:" photo of mostly cloudy skies. 53 deg F while driving through IP at around 4pm" Photo: M. Staples
Island Park
Skies over Centennials
Date
From email:" photo of mostly cloudy skies.
53 deg F while driving through IP at around 4pm"
Region
Island Park
Location (from list)
CENTENNIAL RANGE
Observer Name
Mark Staples
Variable Spring Conditions in the Bridger Range
Date
Activity
Skiing
We toured down the west side of the Bridger Range on the edge of Truman Gulch and found predictably weak snow on an upper-elevation NW-facing slope. Conditions were variable and transitioned to a thick crust as we moved on to a lower elevation, west-facing slope. By the time we came down the Ramp, the snow was getting wet, we saw roller balls, and we avoided steep, sun-exposed terrain.
We dug below NW Passage. It was a 135 cm deep snowpack, dry throughout, with Fist plus hard facets and depth hoar making up the foundation (ECTP30, PST 42/100 end at 30 cm from the ground.
Region
Bridger Range
Location (from list)
Truman Gulch
Observer Name
Dave Zinn
Wet snow at Lionhead
Date
Activity
Snowmobiling
We rode from the Buttermilk trailhead up Denny Creek to Lionhead Ridge, along Lionhead Ridge through Watkins Creek and to the motorized boundary at the head of Targhee Creek.
There was a ~1" crust at the surface when we left the trailhead, with dry snow beneath. We saw our first wet loose avalanche of the day running around 11 am. By 12:30 there were dozens and many rollerballs. None of them ran particularly far or picked up too much volume. The snow surface was moist on sunny slopes by late morning, but not more than a few inches down.
We saw one small slab avalanche that occurred since this weekend's snow. It appears to have been triggered by a snowmobile yesterday (4/1/24). It broke 10" to 2 ft deep, 50 ft wide, and ran ~50 vertical feet. It broke on a thin layer of facets beneath the new snow. Digging in the crown, dry facets at the ground were along still present and weak (fist hardness).
Signs of older avalanches were visible beneath the new snow, including one slide that broke in early March. No cracking or collapsing were observed today.
Region
Lionhead Range
Location (from list)
Lionhead Ridge
Observer Name
Ian Hoyer
Recent instability in the new and wind drifted snow
CENTENNIAL RANGE
Island Park
Code
SS-N-R2-D2-I
Aspect Range
N-E-S
Latitude
44.54890
Longitude
-111.73100
Notes
Two rider-triggered avalanches near Reas Peak on north aspects that broke within or just below the new storm snow (D1s)
Natural avalanche broke near Yale Creek on a southern aspect that broke below new snow (D1)
Two natural avalanches that broke within the wind drifted snow in Jefferson Bowl (D2s)
Number caught
0
Number buried
0
Avalanche Type
Soft slab avalanche
Trigger
Natural trigger
R size
2
D size
2
Bed Surface
I - Interface between new and old snow
Problem Type
Wind-Drifted Snow
Images
Snow Observation Source
Slab Thickness units
centimeters
Single / Multiple / Red Flag
Multiple Avalanches
Advisory Year
We saw a small natural avalanche below Reas Peak on a northerly aspect. Photo: GNFAC
Avalanche Details: Recent instability in the new and wind drifted snow
Island Park, 2024-04-01
We saw two avalanches below Reas Peak on North aspects that were likely triggered by snowmobilers. Photo: GNFAC