POV: Skier Releases Dangerous Avalanche
POV footage was released yesterday of a skier triggering an avalanche on the Southeast face of Mt. Blackmore.
Luckily, the skier in question handled the situation with grace, and came out unscathed with the footage to prove it.
Mt. Blackmore is located near Bozeman, Montana, and offers a variety of backcountry and sidecountry routes for those looking for extra powder and a change of pace from lapping the resorts.
Outside Bozeman explains that Mt. Blackmore has "exploded in popularity for its relatively easy access to spectacular alpine terrain. Nonetheless, this renowned classic should top any local backcountry skier's hit list."
"Get up early to beat the crowds after a recent snow, and you'll be rewarded with sweeping powder turns near the rim of the Gallatin Crest."
Hey, things are popular for a reason, right?
Interestingly, even Outside Bozeman notes the potential for avalanches in their description of the routes.
The Southeast Face (shown in the POV above) takes "a long, moderate descent from the summit. A slide here is less likely, but not out of the question, and the terrain is extremely consequential, with the slide path spilling into the cliffs of the East Face."
Extremely consequential indeed.
The Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Center announced that as of today, "Bridger Bowl is closed to all uphill traffic. Ski patrol is doing avalanche mitigation in anticipation of opening this Friday, December 15."
Specifically to the avalanche shown in the video above, "this avalanche is instructive because the unstable conditions they found could be anywhere in our forecast area, such as Saddle Peak, Beehive Basin or Cooke City."
The avalanche prediction also wrote that "Ian and I skied in a backcountry snowpack at Bridger Bowl yesterday. We got a loud collapse in the Fingers Meadow, stopped, and dug in 2 feet of snow. We found weak grains of sugary facets and depth hoar at the base of the snowpack."
The snowpack, apparently, will be slow to heal, so maybe check out some other routes in the meantime.
In general, even once the snowpack does heal, skiers are advised to ski down one at a time on backcountry routes, watching their partner the whole time.
Tests and proper equipment are a given.
Even when you do everything right, things can always go off track. Good thing that's why we make a Plan B.
Related: Skiers Trigger Largest Avalanche Of Season In Colorado
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