13-14

1.5 to 2 feet of snow is on the ground at Lionhead.  This pic is above Denny Creek at 8,000 feet.  The snowpack is faceted, but not as bad as I thought.  I could not get layers to propagate fractures in my stability tests.  The top three inches is the weakest snow in the pack, so we'll be watching closely when it gets buried with the next storm. Photo: GNFAC

This pic was taken by Big Sky Snow Safety on Nov 25th after avalanche control on north facing terrain in Headwaters.  The snowpack is similar to the backcountry, so we pay close attention during their control.  In essence, they have weak snow.  Facets are breaking 30cm off the ground on an old ice crust.  Slides are 3-4 feet deep and fractures are propagating. Photo: BSSP

Avalanche debris on Crown Butte. Notice how part of the slab remained intact. Photo: GNFAC

Snowmobile triggered slide. Just east of Daisy Pass under Chimney Rocks. Photo: GNFAC

Avalanche on Crown Butte. Notice how it did not propagate very far into the deeper snowpack. Photo: GNFAC

Avalanche debris. Part of the slab remained intact. Photo: GNFAC

Crown face. Photo: GNFAC

In the Bridger Range, strong downhill winds blew two nights ago and created the primary avalanche problem – wind slabs. A skier on a SE aspect on Saddle Peak yesterday triggered a 6 inch deep slab that broke at the new snow/old snow interface and ran about 1000 feet. Karl found a small avalanche in the Bears area at Bridger Bowl that broke 8-12 inches deep and 25 feet wide at the same interface. Bridger Bowl is backcountry right now even though it may not seem like it.

This slide was skier triggered on Saturday, November 23. It occurred on a N facing slope and broke on a layer of facets about 8 inches above the ground. Ski tracks can be seen just above the crown.