Large avalanche on Saddle Peak near Bridger Bowl Ski Area. Photo: Ryan Minton.
Other photos courtesy of MTAvalanche.com.
Wow, it is amazing to me that no one was hurt or injured yesterday when very large avalanche occurred on Saddle Peak, a popular sidecountry bump just south of the Bridger Bowl Ski Area. My sources say that the avalanche was triggered by a cornice drop at approximately 11am. The crown was about 5′ deep and ran across the entire face. Saddle Peak gets skied very often by Bridger Bowl skiers and my contact said he has probably skied that face about 10 times this year. Gotta wonder what’s going through his head right now and I bet he’s feeling pretty lucky not to be up there yesterday!
Like the Teton’s, southwestern Montana received at least 2 feet of snow over the weekend with lots of moisture, so the new snow was very wet and dense, and all it took was a little extra weight from the cornice drop to trigger the avalanche. The Saddle Peak area is “sidecountry terrain” that is now accessed via the Schlasman’s chairlift, which was put in over the summer and new this season. What’s amazing to think about is that 
you probably can’t even count the number of times this slope has been skied this year…and to have it slide from a cornice drop…with no one getting buried, injured or even on the slope…is pretty unbelievable. I guess skier compaction doesn’t do squat?!
As many of you know, deep instabilities in the snowpack rein across much of the Rockies this year, all the way from Montana to Utah, including the Teton Range. I think most Teton area back and sidecountry skiers believe that our week layer is buried under too much snow to really be effected by a lowly skier. But while Montana’s snowpack probably isn’t as deep as that of the Teton’s right now, after seeing the photos and hearing about this slide…it sure makes you wonder how safe things really are here at home. For more photos of the Saddle Peak Avalanche, please visit MTAvalanche.com.
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Holy $h**. Miracle no one was hurt.
holy shit is right-
Incredible that no one was hurt… This is one of those “sidecountry” areas where people behave like total morons. Even when you are doing everything right and skiing safely at this spot, idiots will drop in on top of you three at a time. I dont know what it is going to take to get people to ski safely at this spot. In my opinion, this is not going to change the way people ski outside Bridger Bowl. What are things like in the sidecountry at JHMR? Are there a lot of lift skiers that act like idiots?
Haven’t skied there, maybe a local can fill me in - when the line was being hit by skiers all year, was it the main avalanche face - the looker’s right over the 2 or 3 cliff bands with the rocky exposure below? Even if there is some general benefit, no amount of skier compaction is going to “strengthen” weak snow that lives around that much shaded, cliffy, rock.
Re safety at home - I’m sure the local experts that set off that huge slide on 10696, 3 hours after a storm stopped dumping 3 feet with wind on top of a heavily sun crusted steep SE exposure, would have an opinion.
(not the same Tony that tried to play gotcha with your banana line and the bighorn closure, btw)
Scary stuff Steve ! I have thought to myself all winter while at Bridger when this was going to happen. I have seen numerous folks heading that way without even a thought of AVI danger (No Packs / Shovels / Probes etc, beacons are required to access the lift - even though a slide this large would most likely just be a body recovery effort). The Bro / Bras just think “it won’t happen to me” if they even think that. Will it change the mindset and put up warning signs in the future ? I am sure for a few weeks yes …. Next year ? We will see. Just think if something like this were to happen over on Rock Springs after the epic 5 ft dump a few weeks ago (I saw the same behavior there as well), it would have been epically bad ! Bridger just dodged a huge bullet yesterday as well as quite a few people.
Cheers !
josh…i haven’t skied at bridger and it’s been years since i skied at the sidecountry at jhmr, but i can imagine there are similarities between both. i’d like to think the skiers at jhmr are a bit more aware…but that would be hard to say.
i think backcountry ethics tend to take a backseat in areas with high traffic, because most people believe that since a slope gets skied a lot, and/or there are a lot of people around…they are safe and immune to avalanches. events like this show that is not always the case.
tony…copy that. it’s funny, we were thinking about skiing 10696 on friday…but opted not to because of the new snow and loading. i believe that slide happened the following day…last saturday…when one skier was skiing down the ridge. talked to a ranger today that watched it happen.
it is also my understanding that most of that slope in saddle gets skied, but i’m sure there are some pockets near those cliffs that are less frequently traveled.
jim…at least there wasn’t a restaurant built in the slide path at bridger…eh? and yeah…i think alot of skiers out there have an “i’m invincible” attitude. too much time spent watching movies with dudes skiing out of slides and surviving i guess.
“i’d like to think the skiers at jhmr are a bit more aware…but that would be hard to say”…you just said it. Apparently the ski universe does revolve around Jackson Hole.
Just razzing you Steve…
Let’s not be too judgmental or provincial here. After all, I see my share of mountain noobs (some even from Jackson!) in your beloved Tetons each summer. Besides, the Bozeman area is hardly devoid of well-schooled avalanche experts. However, the sidecountry skiing extravaganza currently going on at Bridger is a relatively new experience that many local skiers find hard to resist. As a result those hitting the east face of Saddle are a mixture of savvy ole timers and inexperienced, perhaps unaware powder seekers. I suspect you’d find the same ratio of inexperienced to experienced skiers in any similar sidecountry setting. Unfortunately, the easily accessible Saddle Peak terrain may hold far more serious consequences than most other sidecountry areas.
Funny Steve - Not the best placement for a restaurant for sure. We could build one up on Daisy Pass :-} and even put in a fur coat store. I have always wanted to get a pair of 70’s gaper fur boots.
some video and pit study…
haha nice poke about the restaurant.
re 10696 - it snowed again and blew early Saturday too, stopped near dawn - I re-broke a skin track near there with 6 inches in it. The party that set off the slide knew that pretty well - they had to break a deep track up S Maverick because no one had skied it Friday , they had hours of in-your-face physical feedback about how much new snow fell in the storm cycle and how it was thicker/heavier/slabbier than the fluff we’ve had over the last few weeks. Some of the first words I heard from trailbreaker girl in front when she crested the ridge and looked up at 10696 were “it looks bomber”.
Anyone that skied up high before that storm knew how firm and crusted anything with the slightest sunny exposure was. That was a decision you could have made from your couch while you were drinking your coffee and waking up.
Saddle looks just like the east face of taylor to me.
hey tony…yeah, i guess couldn’t resist it pointing that one out. sorry jhmr.
re 10696- i recently heard that the person who was on 10696 when it ripped was a friend of mine. as always, it’s easy to monday morning quarterback this one, but i heard that the slide was triggered as they were skiing down the ridge. to me, the mainline on 10696 is the face, which maybe they decided not to ski because of the conditions? yeah, they might have blown the call initially on the way up at first, but the aspect is a bit different where one would ascend via maverick.
one other way to look at this one is that the party summitted a nice teton peak under blue skies, but opted not to ski the line they wanted because of avy danger. i haven’t talked to my bro about the day yet, but it will be interesting to hear his take on it.
i broke trail the whole way up wimpys on saturday and it was a good workout. i didn’t kick off any slides. but if i did…would that have made me an idiot?
i’m afraid of that one gmon.
Your not the only one steve.
good to know nick.