Snowmobiler triggered, caught and injured, Daisy Pass

Daisy Pass
Cooke City
Code
HS-AMu-R3-D2-O
Elevation
10000
Aspect
SW
Latitude
45.05500
Longitude
-109.95300
Notes

On the morning of March 23, 2023 near Daisy Pass, two snowmobilers were stuck on a slope and a third was snowmobiling up to help when a large avalanche was triggered. The two stuck riders were caught and carried, and one of them sustained potentially life-threatening leg injuries (later determined as a broken femur). The third rider was able to safely ride off the slope and was not caught by the avalanche.

One rider in the group rode into Cooke City to contact Search and Rescue. Cooke City/Park County Search and Rescue transported the injured rider back to Cooke City where he was transferred to an air ambulance.

The avalanche was on a southwest facing slope at 10,000’, it broke up to 4’ deep and 150’ wide, and is classified HS-AMu-R3-D2-O.

 

Number of slides
1
Number caught
2
Number buried
0
Avalanche Type
Hard slab avalanche
Trigger
Snowmobile
Trigger Modifier
u-An unintentional release
R size
3
D size
2
Bed Surface
O - Old snow
Problem Type
Persistent Weak Layer
Slab Thickness
48.0 inches
Vertical Fall
400ft
Slab Width
150.00ft
Slab Thickness units
inches
Single / Multiple / Red Flag
Single Avalanche
Advisory Year