23-24

Wind Slab avalanches in Frazier Basin

Date
Activity
Skiing

From IG: Very touchy on Hollywood wall this morning. All slopes easily propagated 4-6” deep on a firm bed surface. Most were less than 50’ wide with the exception of the slide in the couloir which propagated down the entire couloir, maybe 500’ wide, and ran through the exits into the main bowl.

Region
Bridger Range
Location (from list)
Frazier Basin
Observer Name
Max Cohen

Windslabs North of Cooke city

COOKE CITY
Cooke City
Code
N-R1-D1-I
Elevation
9800
Aspect
S
Latitude
45.02020
Longitude
-109.93800
Notes

From obs: "skiing north of cooke city today observed this Small windslab on a South facing slope ~9800 ft."
 

 

Number of slides
1
Number caught
0
Number buried
0
Trigger
Natural trigger
R size
1
D size
1
Bed Surface
I - Interface between new and old snow
Problem Type
Wind-Drifted Snow
Snow Observation Source
Slab Thickness units
centimeters
Single / Multiple / Red Flag
Single Avalanche
Advisory Year

Windslabs North of Cooke city

Date

skiing north of cooke city today observed this Small windslab on a South facing slope ~9800 ft.
 

 

Observer Name
Gloria Roe

Still Winter in Cooke City

Date
Activity
Snowmobiling

Today, we rode north of Cooke City through Abundance Basin around Scotch Bonnet ending at the East Henderson bench. We found anywhere from 4-12" of new snow that fell in the last 24-48 hours. Strong winds have transported this new snow into thick drifts even in more sheltered terrain. We did not see any recent notable avalanches but saw many crowns and debris piles from two weeks ago. 
On the East Henderson bench, we dug a snowpit and found 235cm (almost 8') of snow. We found moist faceted snow 6' below the surface near the bottom of the snowpack. At the top of our snowpit was 12" of new snow above a stiff crust. Our stability test showed ECTN15 results on this interface. 

Snow continued off and on through the day with little to no accumulation. Many slopes had signs of either wind-loading or had been scoured by recent wind resulting in thinner areas. 

Region
Cooke City
Location (from list)
COOKE CITY
Observer Name
Zach Peterson

Wind-Slab Avalanches in Bridger Range

The Ramp
Bridger Range
Code
SS-NC-R2-D2-I
Aspect
E
Latitude
45.82880
Longitude
-110.93100
Notes

On our drive home we saw, what I assume were, natural wind-slab avalanches on Quarter Saddle (looked like a cornice collapse) and in Argentina Bowl. Bridger Peak was obscured by heavy wind-loading. There was a small wind-slab release out of Gibbs (I think), I suspect skier triggered, but I could make out a track.

 

Number of slides
4
Number caught
0
Number buried
0
Avalanche Type
Soft slab avalanche
Trigger
Cornice fall
R size
2
D size
2
Bed Surface
I - Interface between new and old snow
Problem Type
Wind-Drifted Snow
Snow Observation Source
Slab Thickness units
centimeters
Single / Multiple / Red Flag
Multiple Avalanches
Advisory Year