Many natural slides in Taylor Fork

Taylor Fork
Southern Madison
Code
HS-N-R2-D2-O
Elevation
9400
Aspect
NE
Latitude
45.06590
Longitude
-111.28200
Notes

We rode to the Taylor Fork weather station (near Pika Point on the rim of Sunlight Basin) and noticed a few slides along the way. At the weather station we could see that the north end of the basin natural avalanched: the slopes from where the cornices end in Sunlight Basin past Pika Point. It broke up to 2.5 feet deep on an old layer of facets and surface hoar. The slide was R2 D2, 3-400 feet vertical and at least 750 feet wide. It was a large Hard Slab. We spent time at the crown digging, making a movie and getting cold. No surprises, just great to see a real avalanche. We also saw smaller slides looking west from the station, close by. Afterward, we rode to the Sage/Carrot divide in deep snow; hero riding. Skyline Ridge was obscured in clouds.

On the drive back to Bozeman we could see many slides on road cuts and on slopes across the river; low elevation avalanches that we don’t get to see often.

The avalanche recorded in this form is the one in Sunlight Basin that we made the movie about.

Number of slides
5
Number caught
0
Number buried
0
Avalanche Type
Hard slab avalanche
Trigger
Natural trigger
R size
2
D size
2
Bed Surface
O - Old snow
Problem Type
Persistent Weak Layer
Slab Thickness
30.0 inches
Vertical Fall
300ft
Slab Width
750.00ft
Weak Layer Grain type
Surface Hoar
Weak Layer grain size
3.00mm
Weak Layer Hardness
F
Slab Layer Grain Type
Wind packed
Slab Layer Grain Size
1.00mm
Slab Layer Hardness
1F+
Snow Observation Source
Slab Thickness units
inches
Single / Multiple / Red Flag
Multiple Avalanches
Advisory Year