From obs "We were ski touring on the SW side of Mt. Henderson today, and noticed a large (natural?) avalanche on the NE aspect of Henderson. First observed at around 1:15pm. It appeared to be very fresh, possibly from a remote trigger this morning.
2 photos attached. A NE aspect, around 10,000'.
It looked to be 4-6' deep and about 500' wide. And it failed on snow at/ near the ground."
From obs: "We popped over to the recent avalanche on the east side and got a crown profile. Avalanche is NE facing, 10090. HS-N-D2-R4-O
Crown is 105 cm deep, breaking on surface hoar. Details are in attached profile
Something noteworthy.. the slope angle at the crown is 30.1 degrees."
From email: "Skied ghost trees in Sheep Creek today. Still a little lean, but mostly good to go for taking clients. Surprised to only see one D1R1 soft Slab on steep north facing slope. No other avalanche activity seen on Miller Mountain, Mineral, Sunset and Republic Mountain. No cr/co."
Been at the yurt the last couple days. About 2 feet of new snow since Friday, 10 inches of that were today.
Couple collapses... Most aspects. No avalanches observed but visibility has been very low
We were ski touring on the SW side of Mt. Henderson today, and noticed a large (natural?) avalanche on the NE aspect of Henderson. First observed at around 1:15pm. It appeared to be very fresh, possibly from a remote trigger this morning.
2 photos attached. A NE aspect, around 10,000'.
It looked to be 4-6' deep and about 500' wide. And it failed on snow at/ near the ground.
Photo: B Fredlund
We were ski touring on the SW side of Mt. Henderson today, and noticed a large (natural?) avalanche on the NE aspect of Henderson. First observed at around 1:15pm. It appeared to be very fresh, possibly from a remote trigger this morning.
2 photos attached. A NE aspect, around 10,000'.
It looked to be 4-6' deep and about 500' wide. And it failed on snow at/ near the ground.
Photo: B Fredlund
Scotch Bonnet Depth to Weak Layer 28 Dec 2024
A group on the "Rip Curl" area of Woody Ridge south of Cooke City report ECTP1 test results failing on buried weak layers. Photo: B. Henry
We ski toured in Sheep Creek today, north of Cooke City. Of note, a thin (4mm) rime crust was forming due to the high humidity/ quasi rain. Remarkably the rime crust skied very well. Photo: B. Fredlund
We experienced several collapses and had propagation in multiple ECTs performed. HS varies between 85-105cm. Photo from 9940
Photo: BMG
Photo: BMG
I saw a wide slab avalanche up on west Woody Ridge from town. It happened late on Wednesday or overnight during or after the strong winds and snowfall. Photo: GNFAC
Wind slab avalanche near Lulu Pass. Photo: GNFAC
Large persistant slab avalanche on Henderson. Photo: GNFAC
Persistant slab avalanche on Fisher that broke near the ground. Photo: GNFAC
D2 avalanche on east facing Mount Fox that appears to be on the SH layer, triggered by a cornice drop.
Photo: B Zavora
NE facing, 10,000' Sheep Creek.
Photo: B Fredlund
NE- N facing, 10,000' Mt. Henderson
Photo: B Fredlund
NE- N facing, 10,000' Mt. Henderson
Photo: B Fredlund
NE- N facing, 10,000' Mt. Henderson
Photo: B Fredlund
E facing, 10,000 Mt. Henderson
Photo: B Fredlund
E facing, 10,200' Scotch Bonnet Mtn.
Photo: B Fredlund
NE facing, 9700', Miller Ridge
Photo: B Fredlund
E facing, 9900', Bull of the Woods Pass
Photo: B Fredlund
Natural avalanche, NE facing, 10,000, Miller Ridge
Photo: B Fredlund
Lots of wind slabs south of Cooke today. Strong wind all day and lots of blowing snow. Photo: N Mattes
Plumes of drifting snow in the Bridger Range as strong winds blasted the mountains. Photo: GNFAC
The clouds broke briefly around noon on Tuesday in Cooke City. Two sections of the face on the Fin slid, one from the top, and one lower and to the right. Photo: N. Mattes
Winds drifted snow below cornices and into gullies on Miller Ridge north of Cooke City. Photo: GNFAC
Winds drifted snow below cornices and along ridgelines on Henderson Mountain in Cooke City. Photo: GNFAC
From IG: On 12/15 "Storm slab broke about 200’ above us as skinning up the hallway coming from the north side on the throne." Photo: Anonymous
It broke on a convex rollover about 100 ft wide and ran about 80 ft. downslope. The crown averaged 30 inches and broke on sugary facets about 18 inches from the ground. Photo: Anonymous
It broke on a convex rollover about 100 ft wide and ran about 80 ft. downslope. The crown averaged 30 inches and broke on sugary facets about 18 inches from the ground. Photo: Anonymous
Found preserved buried surface hoar approximately 15-20cms below the snow surface.
Photo: Beartooth Mountain Guides
Gusty winds transporting snow in Taylor Fork on Saturday. Triggered a 4-5 inch deep wind slab that propagated about 50 ft at the top of a north east facing slope at 9,500 ft.
Photo: JP
Photo: Anonymous
Surface hoar stripe in snowpit near Cooke.
Photo: GNFAC
We skied near Lulu Pass and dug a pit on a northeast facing slope at 9,500'. There was 6-8" of low density new snow on top of a thick layer of surface hoar (10-16mm, photos attached). Photo: GNFAC
Noticed this natural avalanche on 12/8. East facing slope, ~9500 feet, Hayden Creek above Ripcurl area. Photo: J. Mundt
Snowpack on Henderson Bench on NE facing slope
Wet Loose avalanche at Lulu on South facing slope
Old wind slab avalanche on Henderson that likely failed on old facets near the ground after heavy wind loading. NE facing at about 10,100 ft.
1cm surf hoar at Lulu
"At 9410ft, NNW aspect, 10 degree slope, we found HS 75cm. The general structure seems right side up. There are facets at the bottom 20cm or so, but they are wet, and seem to be rounding. An ECT gave us ECTN20 at 40cm down." Photo: N. Mattes
This Afternoon
High: 22 °F
Snow Likely
Tonight
Low: 19 °F⇑
Heavy Snow
Friday
High: 33 °F
Snow
Friday Night
Low: 24 °F
Snow Likely
Saturday
High: 27 °F⇓
Snow
Saturday Night
Low: 14 °F
Chance Snow
Sunday
High: 21 °F
Snow
Sunday Night
Low: 18 °F
Snow
Monday
High: 21 °F
Snow Likely
There were two recent avalanche deaths in Utah involving solo travelers. One on Saturday but recovered on Tuesday (initial report), and a splitboarder traveling solo on Tuesday (initial report). Traveling alone in avalanche terrain carries significant additional risks.
