The "crown" of a very small skier triggered avalanche in the northern Bridger Range. 1/6/23. GNFAC photo.
Avalanche Details: Very small skier triggered avalanche in N. Bridgers
Bridger Range, 2023-01-07
22-23
We rode into The Throne, and skinned up the ridge. While skinning we saw cracks in front of our skis in the 6” of new snow. Photo: GNFAC
Looking down the very small avalanche (~4" deep) we triggered on a small, steep slope below The Throne. GNFAC photo. 1/6/23.
Avalanche Details: Very small skier triggered avalanche in N. Bridgers
Bridger Range, 2023-01-07
Very small skier triggered avalanche in N. Bridgers
The Throne
Bridger Range
Code
SS-AS-R0-D1-I
Elevation
7000
Aspect
S
Latitude
45.88220
Longitude
-110.95200
Notes
While skiing back to our sleds we triggered a very small slide on a small, ~35º below treeline slope (SS-ASu-R1-D0.5). This was on a southerly aspect, at about 7,000 feet, 4-6” down on surface hoar, 15’ wide, 30’ vertical run. There was a very hard crust underneath the surface hoar.
Number caught
0
Number buried
0
Avalanche Type
Soft slab avalanche
Trigger
Skier
R size
0
D size
1
Bed Surface
I - Interface between new and old snow
Problem Type
Persistent Weak Layer
Slab Thickness
4.0 inches
Vertical Fall
30ft
Slab Width
15.00ft
Snow Observation Source
Slab Thickness units
inches
Single / Multiple / Red Flag
Single Avalanche
Advisory Year
Safe test results in beehive
Date
Activity
Snowboarding
Dug a pit today near the prayer flags and got an ECTX on E slope around 9200’ HS 140cm. Facets near the ground appeared to be rounding and bonding nicely. There is a weak layer at 110cm but not a cohesive slab above it, could be interesting when we get new snow. Did observe newly formed facets on the surface. Minor wind transport at ridge line in the afternoon. Mostly right-side up, quality riding
Region
Northern Madison
Location (from list)
Middle Basin
Island Park Taylor Creek
Date
Activity
Snowmobiling
Extremely crusty snow. Dug a pit and found three very defined ice layers around 5500ft.
Region
Island Park
Observer Name
Brian
At 1:30 PM on Jan 6th a large avalanche poured over the cliffs on Saddle Peak, outside the boundaries of Bridger Bowl. Clouds obscured the starting zone. Multiple groups were in the runout zone, including a party building a jump. One person was caught and buried up to his neck. He was able extricate himself and was unharmed. He estimated the debris was at least six feet deep.
We believe this was a natural avalanche that broke in the new and wind drifted snow. Bridger Bowl measured 6" of new snow with 0.75 inches of Snow Water Equivalent at the Alpine Wx. Station.
Avalanche Details: Large natural avalanche on Saddle Peak
Forecast link: GNFAC Avalanche Forecast for Sat Jan 7, 2023
Bridger Range, 2023-01-06
Forecast link: GNFAC Avalanche Forecast for Sat Jan 7, 2023
Large natural avalanche on Saddle Peak
Saddle Peak
Bridger Range
Code
N-R2-D2.5-O
Elevation
9000
Aspect
E
Latitude
45.79430
Longitude
-110.93600
Notes
At 1:30 PM on Jan 6th a large avalanche poured over the cliffs on Saddle Peak, outside the boundaries of Bridger Bowl. Clouds obscured the starting zone. Multiple groups were in the runout zone, including a skier hitting a jump. One person was caught and buried up to his neck. He was able extricate himself and was unharmed. He did a beacon search at the toe of the debris. He estimated the debris was at least six feet deep.
We believe this was a natural avalanche that broke in the new and wind drifted snow which then broke into older snow. Bridger Bowl measured 6" of new snow with 0.75 inches of Snow Water Equivalent at the Alpine Wx. Station. The avalanche was estimated to be 2 feet deep, and measured on Google Earth to be 550 feet wide and 1700 feet long.
Number caught
1
Number buried
1
Trigger
Natural trigger
R size
2
D size
2.5
Bed Surface
O - Old snow
Problem Type
Persistent Slab
Slab Thickness
24.0 inches
Vertical Fall
1700ft
Slab Width
550.00ft
Images
Attached Videos
Snow Observation Source
Slab Thickness units
inches
Single / Multiple / Red Flag
Single Avalanche
Advisory Year
Large avalanche on Saddle Peak
Date
More pictures, video and information can be found HERE on our Incidents page.
At 1:30 PM on Jan 6th a large avalanche poured over the cliffs on Saddle Peak, outside the boundaries of Bridger Bowl. Clouds obscured the starting zone. Multiple groups were in the runout zone, including a skier hitting a jump. One person was caught and buried up to his neck. He was able extricate himself and was unharmed. He did a beacon search at the toe of the debris. He estimated the debris was at least six feet deep.
We believe this was a natural avalanche that broke in the new and wind drifted snow. Bridger Bowl measured 6" of new snow with 0.75 inches of Snow Water Equivalent at the Alpine Wx. Station. The avalanche was estimated to be 3 feet deep, and measured on Google Earth to be 550 feet wide and 2100 feet long.
Region
Bridger Range
Location (from list)
Saddle Peak