Large natural avalanches near Cooke City

COOKE CITY
Cooke City
Code
N-R2-D2-O
Elevation
10000
Aspect Range
E,S,SW
Latitude
45.02020
Longitude
-109.93800
Notes

Near Cooke City (12/2/22) we rode to the cabins at Lulu Pass, then to Round Lake, then to Daisy Pass. Visibility was 50/50, so we didn't see all terrain clearly. We saw multiple large natural avalanches that broke last night or early this morning.

The largest were 3 on Scotch Bonnet (R2-D2, south-souwest aspect at 10,000'), 1 on Henderson in the big east facing slide path (R1-D2. east aspect 10,000'). These appeared to be 3-4 feet deep, and we suspect broke on a layer of weak snow that formed last week and is now buried 2-3 feet deep, and deeper on high wind-loaded slopes.

(We also saw 4-5 smaller wind slabs (R1-D1).)

Number of slides
4
Number caught
0
Number buried
0
Trigger
Natural trigger
R size
2
D size
2
Bed Surface
O - Old snow
Problem Type
Persistent Weak Layer
Slab Thickness
36.0 inches
Vertical Fall
800ft
Slab Width
100.00ft
Snow Observation Source
Slab Thickness units
inches
Single / Multiple / Red Flag
Multiple Avalanches
Advisory Year