09-10

A snowmobiler triggered this slide on Dec 27 as he was highmarking.  It broke 2-4 feet deep and 400 feet wide.  He was near the crown when it released and was not buried.  The rider and his partner had rescue gear and the partner was watching from a safe location.  

This snowpit was dug in the crown of the slide that a snowmobiler triggered Dec 27. A layer of weak facets could not support the hard slab of wind blown snow plus the rider.  The steepest part of the slope was 37 degrees. 

This small avalanche near Round Lake outside Cooke City is a sign of instability. Small slides let us know that bigger slopes are also likely to be dangerous; similar slopes have a similar snowpack. 

A rider was buried in a terrain trap (gully) in Taylor Fork on Sunday, December 27.  No one was injured and we have no other information at this time. 

The slide was triggered near the crown by one sledder.  He was caught, but not buried.  The slope broke 2-3 feet deep on a slope that had 10-20 tracks already on it. It failed on facets formed during the cold snap in early December.

A view of the slide from the Miller Creek road. It was triggered about 30 minutes prior to the photo (3 pm).

This pit was dug adjacent to a popular snowmobile slope.  Its easy to ride on the upper slab, but we're finding the facets to break and fracture.

This snowpit was very similar to other aspects and elevations.  Facets 2 feet under the surface are collapsing, cracking and triggering on steep slopes.  This pit correlates to the above photo.