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Show The National Guard began arriving about 10: 30 a. m., along with other volunteers, until by noon there were seventy- one men searching the slide area. One of the Highway Patrol officers stayed in the parking area at the bottom, taking care of traffic control and shuttling in men and supplies. The National Guard set up a kitchen there. The Teton Power Company sent additional men and supplies. By noon, two rangers from the Teton National Forest arrived, checked the area for hazards, and assisted with the search. At about 12: 30 a snow shoe was found; half an hour later, the body of C. H. was located under five feet of snow. There was a deep gash on his head, and some snow had melted around his mouth, indicating he may have lived a short time. The victim was nearly three hundred feet below where he was when the slide started, and forty feet from the edge of the slide. The snow was piled twenty feet deep at this point. COMMENTS The victims were unaware of the danger, chose a poor route, and probably triggered the slide which caught them. If they had been spaced properly, only one would have been exposed to danger at a time. A rescue action timely enough to recover a buried victim alive is almost impossible at inaccessible sites like this. No. 60- 4 BRIDGER PEAK, MONTANA February I960 WEATHER FACTORS A deep, powder snowfall occurred the day preceding the slide. On the day of the slide the morning had been sunny and warm, but before noon, the sky became overcast, the temperature dropped considerably, and a strong, gusty wind developed. AVALANCHE DATA The avalanche occurred at approximately noon on a day in early February, on the north side of the spur one- half mile north of Bridger Peak. A party of five skiers led by D. W., attempting a ski ascent of Bridger Peak, were close to the slide, but not involved in it. The party's proposed route lay up the spur toward the main crest and south along the crest to the summit. Several attempts were made to determine the sensitivity of the snow pack to avalanching. These attempts included probing with a ski pole handle and attempts to kick off slides on steep pitches. These initial probes indicated that the fresh snow was apparently quite stable. Further investigation after the avalanche had occurred, however, revealed that the initial probing had not penetrated deep enough to anticipate slab conditions. After- the-fact probing indicated a firm sub- crust at four and a half feet, beyond 57 |
