Trip Planning for Bridgers

On a cold day we rode to Frazier Basin and quickly answered the question, “Are wind slab avalanches still possible or have they stabilized?” We saw a natural avalanche (R2, D1.5) that released on a steep headwall just to the south (I believe I’ve heard this referred to as October Bowl). Photo: GNFAC

Feb 7 We saw a couple storm slabs that broke in today's snow 4-6" deep, 10-30' wide, and we triggered one 3-4" deep wind slab, "remotely", from a few feet back on a small ridgeline. R2-D1. These slabs were very soft, F- to F hard. Photo: GNFAC

Feb 7 We saw a couple storm slabs that broke in today's snow 4-6" deep, 10-30' wide, and we triggered one 3-4" deep wind slab, "remotely", from a few feet back on a small ridgeline. R2-D1. These slabs were very soft, F- to F hard. Photo: GNFAC

200ft wide and rather shallow, did not manage to run fully into the apron. 

This was a small remote trigger next to the skin track, about 20 feet wide by 10 feet long.  Photo: K Gordon

Remote trigger, SE facing slope, ~100' crown, ~3" depth.  Photo: M Gillies

Skier triggered wind slab avalanche on Saddle Peak. Photo: BBSP

In the Playground area of the Bridger Range, strong winds rapidly built wind slabs up to 25 cm deep around treeline. Skiers experienced a few cracks in this wind slab, propagating 2 or 3 meters from our ski tips. Photo: N. deLeeuw

Skiers triggered a small wind slab avalanche while skinning near the top of Pair Of Chutes in the Playground. The slab was about 1 foot thick, fist hardness, propagated 20 feet wide and ran 50 feet before breaking up and arresting. Photo: J. Taylor

Winds have worked over many slopes near the Throne. We found some slopes stripped nearly to dirt with the snow blown off to who knows where, and others had wind-sculpted sastrugi. Trees were broken off, and debris littered the snow surface. Photo: GNFAC

We triggered a small soft slab avalanche on a south facing aspect around 7800'. This avalanche broke in a wind drift, 4" deep in low density new snow, likely on a sun crust or near-surface facets. Photo: GNFAC

We triggered a small soft slab avalanche on a south facing aspect around 7800'. This avalanche broke in a wind drift, 4" deep in low density new snow, likely on a sun crust or near-surface facets. Photo: GNFAC

Strong winds transporting snow on Saddle Peak. Photo: BBSP 

Recent natural avalanche: on an easterly aspect around 9200', on Hardscrabble Peak in the northern Bridgers. Photo: B Fredlund 

On 01/08 my partner and I skied into Frazier basin in the northern Bridgers, we skied the love chutes east down and overall the descent was pretty wind hammered from a downward wind. Once at the lake we took the Frazier return route where we found much better ski conditions in the corridor and decided to lap some of the features. We ended up triggering a small wind slab at around 8k on a NE aspect that broke about a foot deep and ran about 25 yards. Very dense wind slabs were forming on a lot of the aspects getting out of Frazier and we opted to not test our luck any further for the day. 
 

Photo: T. Johns

On 01/08 my partner and I skied into Frazier basin in the northern Bridgers, we skied the love chutes east down and overall the descent was pretty wind hammered from a downward wind. Once at the lake we took the Frazier return route where we found much better ski conditions in the corridor and decided to lap some of the features. We ended up triggering a small wind slab at around 8k on a NE aspect that broke about a foot deep and ran about 25 yards. Very dense wind slabs were forming on a lot of the aspects getting out of Frazier and we opted to not test our luck any further for the day. 
 

Photo: T. Johns

On 01/08 my partner and I skied into Frazier basin in the northern Bridgers, we skied the love chutes east down and overall the descent was pretty wind hammered from a downward wind. Once at the lake we took the Frazier return route where we found much better ski conditions in the corridor and decided to lap some of the features. We ended up triggering a small wind slab at around 8k on a NE aspect that broke about a foot deep and ran about 25 yards. Very dense wind slabs were forming on a lot of the aspects getting out of Frazier and we opted to not test our luck any further for the day. 

Photo: T. Johns

Wind slab around 3-12" deep. NE aspect at 8,000 feet. Occurred sometime on January 8th.

A skier intentionally triggered an avalanche in Argentina bowl below south Saddle Peak. The avalanche broke 2 feet deep and ran 1000–2000 vertical feet piling debris 20 feet deep in the run out zone and breaking trees. Photo: anonymous

A skier intentionally triggered an avalanche in Argentina bowl below south Saddle Peak. The avalanche broke 2 feet deep and ran 1000–2000 vertical feet piling debris 20 feet deep in the run out zone and breaking trees. Photo: anonymous

A skier intentionally triggered an avalanche in Argentina bowl below south Saddle Peak. The avalanche broke 2 feet deep and ran 1000–2000 vertical feet piling debris 20 feet deep in the run out zone and breaking trees. Photo: anonymous

A skier intentionally triggered an avalanche in Argentina bowl below south Saddle Peak. The avalanche broke 2 feet deep and ran 1000–2000 vertical feet piling debris 20 feet deep in the run out zone and breaking trees. Photo: anonymous

On Jan 5 we saw this ~150' wide, 1'deep storm slab in Truman Gulch. GNFAC

On Jan 5 With decent visibility we drove up Bridger canyon to Battle Ridge to look for recent avalanches. The most noteworthy was a slab 500'+ wide, 2'+ deep in Argentina Bowl (photo), 1 day old probably. Photo: GNFAC

Photo: H Meyers 

Photo: H Meyers

Saw a small recent looking storm slab avalanche that appeared to be naturally triggered above the road on a south facing slope around 6000'.  It ran all the way across the slope ~30' wide and  ~4" deep within the recent snow.  The snow didn't move far enough to reach the road.  The slope was quite steep-- we didn't measure but I'd estimate 40*.

Photo: H Meyers

We triggered a wind slab. It propagated about 200 ft wide and was 3 ft at the deepest point. Interestingly on the edges and near the bottom (downhill side) of the slab it was only a few inches deep. It broke on the interface between the wind loaded snow and the light and dry snow we received a few days ago. Photo: A Shafer

We triggered a wind slab. It propagated about 200 ft wide and was 3 ft at the deepest point. Interestingly on the edges and near the bottom (downhill side) of the slab it was only a few inches deep. It broke on the interface between the wind loaded snow and the light and dry snow we received a few days ago. Photo: A Shafer

We triggered a wind slab. It propagated about 200 ft wide and was 3 ft at the deepest point. Interestingly on the edges and near the bottom (downhill side) of the slab it was only a few inches deep. It broke on the interface between the wind loaded snow and the light and dry snow we received a few days ago. Photo: A Shafer

Overview photo E facing storm slab N Bridgers 1 Jan 2024

 E-facing storm slab N Bridgers 1 Jan 2024

There were many large storm slab avalanches in the northern Bridgers on Monday and Tuesday during the avalanche warning. Photo: C Kussmaul

Bottom of the Ramp, E aspect, 7900'. We found 24" of new snow which had nearly doubled the snowpack, leaving over five and half foot deep (HS 171) snowpack in this area. We got propagation (ECTP 24) at the storm snow interface. Photo: GNFAC

image of surface hoar crystals seen in the snowpit wall

Digging snowpit near top of the ramp Dec 22

Image of snowpit from just south of the top of the ramp on Dec 22

Avalanche in Hourglass chute above Wolverine. It looked to be triggered by an intentional cornice drop, was around 12 inches deep at the crown, 100' wide and ran 850' vertical feet. It looked around three days old.