Avalanche Incidents

Bridger Range
Bridger Bowl
Skier caught and buried at Bridger
Incident details include images
Bridger Bowl
SS-R3-D2-S
Aspect: E
Coordinates: 45.8231, -110.9260
Caught: 1 ; Buried: 1

From Bridger Bowl: "On December 15th, 2024 at 12:09 p.m., a skier in open terrain was caught and buried by an avalanche in the Papa Bear region below Bridger Gully. The skier, who was with a partner, was buried just below the snow surface and was able to punch a hole up through the top of the snow. The skier's partner and other members of the skiing public responded quickly and were able to extricate the uninjured skier.

Although rare, inbounds avalanches may happen and are defined in the skier's responsibility code as an inherent risk of skiing, even within ski area boundaries. We share this as a reminder of the importance of skiing and riding with a partner, especially in deep snow conditions."

Notes about snowpack:

Slide was 8 inches deep, 450 feet wide, and broke within the storm snow 2 inches above the new snow/old snow interface. Trigger unknown.

The Alpine weather station received 2.5" snow = 0.2" SWE from 2200 on 12/14 to 0300 on 12/15, then intense snowfall from 0700 to 1200 added 7" and 1"SWE for a storm total of 9.5"=1.2"SWE over 14 hours as of noon.


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Bridger Range
The Throne
Skier triggered slide at The Throne
Incident details include images
The Throne
SS-ASu-R3-D2-S
Aspect: NE
Coordinates: 45.8822, -110.9520
Caught: 0 ; Buried: 0

From IG: "Storm slab broke about 200’ above us as skinning up the hallway coming from the north side on the throne." 


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Southern Madison
Taylor Fork
Wind Slab in Taylor Fork
Incident details include images
Taylor Fork
SS-ASu-R2-D1.5-I
Elevation: 9,500
Aspect: NE
Coordinates: 45.0607, -111.2720
Caught: 0 ; Buried: 0

Gusty winds transporting snow in Taylor Fork on Saturday. Triggered a 4-5 inch deep wind slab that propagated about 50 ft at the top of a north east facing slope at 9,500 ft.


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Northern Madison
Beehive Basin
Skier Triggered Avalanche near Going Home Chute
Beehive Basin
SS-ASu-R1-D1-O
Elevation: 9,200
Aspect: W
Coordinates: 45.3407, -111.3910
Caught: 0 ; Buried: 0

A skier near Going Home Chute in Beehive Basin triggered a small avalanche in steep terrain that broke 20 feet wide and ran 100 feet downslope over rocks. 


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Northern Gallatin
Hyalite - East Fork
Wet snow avalanches in Hyalite
Hyalite - East Fork
WL-N-R1-D1.5-U
Elevation: 7,900
Caught: 0 ; Buried: 0

From obs: "With the inversion and warmer temperatures yesterday, we (group of 3) discovered a super saturated, cohesive snowpack in Hyalite on the approach to High Fidelity. On the first pitch, I narrowly avoided a point release wet loose, probably around D1-1.5. After this we decided to bail. On the rappel, my partner narrowly avoided another wet loose, which he estimated to be D1.5 and deep enough to bury a person past their chest. The sun was not out but the mountains were shedding and there was evidence of warming and wind, because the trees had no snow on them. We were able to make ~2.5 feet in diameter “cinnamon rolls” by rolling a snowball downhill. If you’re going to any of the more exposed climbs in Hyalite, be very mindful of overhead hazards and wet loose problems which you would not expect this time of year." 


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Bridger Range
Bridger Bowl
Skier-triggered avalanche in Super Couloir
Incident details include images
Incident details contain video
Bridger Bowl
SS-ASu-R2-D2-O
Elevation: 8,100
Aspect: NE
Coordinates: 45.8156, -110.9230
Caught: 0 ; Buried: 0

From IG Message: “Hey guys - my partner broke off a small avalanche in super couloir today… broke full depth across half the couloir, 2-3’ deep/20’ wide and looked like it ran around 500’. No one was caught. He might message you with pictures too but here’s a video from the top”

From IG Message: “Skier triggered Pocket in super couloir. Wasn't very unexpected, the skiers left side felt a little slabbier than the skiers right and tried to stay off it but got blinded by a sick face shot. Triggered going over a sharky rock spot, not very fast moving and easy to ski out of. Snow depth was 2-2.5 feet”


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