Avalanche
A skier was caught and buried in an inbounds avalanche at Bridger Bowl, Montana, on Sunday, December 15. The avalanche occurred in open terrain in the Papa Bear region below Bridger Gully. Thankfully, the skier was buried just below the surface and was able to punch a hole up through the top of the snow for fresh air. This enabled his friend and other members of the public to find and retrieve the buried skier quickly. The skier was uninjured.
This marks the second early-season avalanche at Bridger Bowl following an avalanche in early November.
The resort shared details of the avalanche on its social media accounts, concluding the piece with an important reminder, stating: “Although rare, inbounds avalanches may happen and are defined in the skier’s responsibility code as an inherent risk of skiing, even within ski area boundaries. We share this as a reminder of the importance of skiing and riding with a partner, especially in deep snow conditions. Please be safe out there!”
Steamboat Resort, Colorado, recently issued a critical safety alert to all visitors following what officials call the “largest avalanche slide in resort history.” The natural avalanche occurred on Sunday, December 1, after significant snowfall at the end of November, in the chutes skiers’ right of Bar-UE chairlift.
Kudos to Bridger Bowl and Steamboat for sharing these incidents and using them as an educational moment for all of us.
Bridger Bowl is 15 miles from Bozeman, Montana, boasting a peak elevation of 8,700 feet and a vertical drop of 2,600 feet. The ski area offers more than 70 trails across a skiable area of 2,000 acres and is serviced by eight chair lifts.
