Bridger Range

Look out for wind drifts today, both freshly formed and from earlier in the week. Drifts could be up to 2 ft thick and are sitting on very weak snow, so they’ll be easily triggered. Steer around these drifts. Also watch out for facet sluffs (Loose Dry avalanches) on steep slopes that haven’t been wind affected and Wet Loose point releases starting near rocks during the heat of the day on sunny slopes.

Wind Slab avalanches are the primary concern across our forecast area, with the differences in danger driven by the fact that the Bozeman, Big Sky and Cooke City areas got substantially more new snow this week.

Around Island Park and West Yellowstone, wind drifts are going to be quite thin and only a hazard in the steepest terrain where getting swept off your feet would have big consequences. In areas that got more snow earlier in the week, drifts could be up to 2 ft thick and cause avalanches that are plenty big enough to bury you in the wrong spot. Alex got a 8-12” deep wind drift to crack on a small slope in Cooke City yesterday (video) and skiers in the Bridger Range on Thursday triggered a foot deep avalanche on a slightly wind affected slope (observation), both good examples of this concern.

Look out for fresh wind drifts, as well as those that formed earlier in the week. Drifts are sitting on a widespread assortment of weak snow in many places (Beehive video, Hebgen video, Bridgers video). That means these drifts will not stabilize super quickly and even if they formed several days ago, they could still break as Wind Slab avalanches today.

Loose snow avalanches are a secondary concern on slopes that haven’t been wind drifted. These slides will generally be small and are only a concern on the steepest slopes, but still worth considering before getting into exposed terrain. In most places these will be Dry Loose avalanches, or facet sluffs (example near Cooke City). In the Bridger Range, with warm temperatures and direct sun, we could see the new snow getting wet for the first time, so look out for Wet Loose point releases starting near rocks during the heat of the day.

With more recent snow to drift, larger Wind Slab avalanches are possible and the avalanche danger is MODERATE around Bozeman, Big Sky and Cooke City. 

Around West Yellowstone and Island Park, conditions are generally safe and the avalanche danger is LOW.

King and Queen of The Ridge Fund-Raiser

Do you love hiking the Ridge at Bridger Bowl? Are you passionate about sliding on snow? Then this event is calling your name. Hike, ski, ride, and raise money while enjoying the camaraderie & great community vibes.Make sure to sign up in two places, through Bridger Bowl to participate and through our event page for the fundraising part of the event. 

Bridger Bowl Sign up here

Eventgroove Fundraising Sign Up