Frazier Basin

A partner and I skinned out to Frazier Basin yesterday afternoon and had some fun turns.

A small crown above 8,500 feet caught my eye, and I noticed a debris pile in the basin consistent with a size 1 avalanche on steep terrain.

I dug a pit near the base of a south-facing couloir and found very strong, drifted slabs roughly 170cm deep. We also noted a visible weak layer about 40 cms down, and it reacted to a shovel shear. The snowpack was extremely variable everywhere.

We noticed only the most sheltered areas in Frazier Basin were holding snow. Much0 of the remaining terrain in the northern Bridgers was heavily wind scoured and marginal.