"... while touring in the Northern Bridgers, my partner and I noticed a very large avalanche that occurred on a North face in "October Bowl" just to the south of Hardscrabble Pk. We didn't witness it and are unsure of a trigger, but we came in contact with all parties believed to be out there and assume it occurred naturally early this morning from heavy wind-loading. The crown seemed to be 2-3' deep but stepped down to the ground about 200' below the crown. The slide was about 400' in width and ran about 1,000' and we assumed classifications of R3.5 and D3.
Northern Gallatin
Natural Avalanches on Buck Ridge
We could see a few avalanches that likely broke yesterday on 1/11/2020.
- The wind pillow under the large cornices in 2nd Yellowmule broke. It looked like just the wind load, vs breaking at the ground. 200' wide x 150' vertical 1-2 feet deep.
- In the 3rd Yellowmule a wind-loaded slope avalanched 200' wide, 75' vertical and 2 feet deep. It broke on a layer of weak, faceted snow near the ground.
- Off the east ridge of MacAtee Ridge we could make out 3 slab avalanches that released naturally. Only one looked big enough to bury a person.
These natural avalanches likely occurred on Saturday, January 11. New snow and wind loaded slopes and we saw other slides as we rode around. Photo: GNFAC
Forecast link: GNFAC Avalanche Forecast for Mon Jan 13, 2020GNFAC Avalanche Forecast for Tue Jan 14, 2020
This natural avalanche in 3rd Yellowmule on Buck Ridge likely occurred on Saturday, January 11. It was a wind loaded and very steep slope. It broke on facets near the ground and was big enough to bury a person (D2). The size was 2-3' deep, 200' wide and 75' vertical. Photo: GNFAC
Forecast link: GNFAC Avalanche Forecast for Mon Jan 13, 2020GNFAC Avalanche Forecast for Tue Jan 14, 2020
This natural avalanche in 3rd Yellowmule on Buck Ridge likely occurred on Saturday, January 11. It was a wind loaded and very steep slope. It broke on facets near the ground and was big enough to bury a person (D2). The size was 2-3' deep, 200' wide and 75' vertical. Photo: GNFAC