New snow instabilities in Bridgers

New snow instabilities in Bridgers

Date
Activity
Snowmobiling

We rode below the Throne and towards Fairy Lake, mostly at elevations 6,800-7,500'. It snowed steady S1-2 most of the day and tapered off in the afternoon. Wind was a stout moderate out of the east and south in the parking lot. Wind was light to moderate out of the south up higher/"mid-mountain". There was a brief clearing mid-day and we could see the bowl and ridge south of Naya Nuki.

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.

The interface below this week's storm was generally well bonded to the surface below and lacked a weak layer from the recent high pressure. I would not totally rule out the potential of something breaking wider on a weak layer because we did not get a good look at higher elevations, but so far it seems less likely to have a persistent slab problem involving a layer below this week's snow in the Bridgers as compared to other parts of our forecast area.

Region
Bridger Range
Location (from list)
The Throne
Observer Name
Alex Marienthal