24-25

Skiers spotted a skier-triggered avalanche from a distance. Photo: R. Cigler

From IG Message: “(Avalanche) Spotted in Super Couloir”

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”

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”

Saw debris from several small natural avalanches below the ridge on an east aspect south of saddle peak while driving up to bridger. Most looked like point releases but there was one that might have been a small slab. Unsure because the light wasn't right to tell if there was a crown.

We stayed low but found a pretty uniform snowpack other than a couple of spots with sun crusts.

There was also tons of snow blowing over the ridge when we left around 3pm.

From email: "A little bbowl storm skiing for me yesterday afternoon/evening. Measured 20-25cm settled storm snow at base area and 35-40cm at mid and upper mountain. Very graupel-rich storm, with lots of rimed stellars too. Winds were blowing from the N across the lower mountain and up to the top of bridger, then I got into the calm "detachment zone" with light winds for the rest of the way. Lots of relatively soft wind slab formation going on, maximum encountered slab depth was 30-40cm. Localized cracking in these drifts, and some subtle, muffled collapsing.

I found a variable amount of "older" snow underneath the new snow, not from the Oct 17-18th storm, but from earlier this week. This was absent at the base but increased to a variable 5-20 cm on easterly aspects on mid/upper mountain."

45.8305, -110.9307, 7840’, NW aspect, 23°

ECTN3 failing on 3cm layer of 2mm buried facets at the ground. HS 65cm. 

SE aspect hand pit has much more favorable conditions due to the lack of faceted old snow. Snow near the ground was still moist. 

Toured up to the top of PK this morning to check out the fresh snow and see if we could eek out some early season turns. Cold temps to start the day with some light to moderate wind out of the NW and evidence that the wind was certainly blowing snow around during the storm over the past 24 hours or so. Did not see any significantly developed slabs in a multitude of hand pits at mid elevations, but noticed a relatively consistent 2-4 inch denser layer (from the wind) on top of the softer snow below.