Avalanche — Teton & Gros Ventre Mountains, Wyoming

2025-01-04 · Teton & Gros Ventre Mountains, Wyoming

Event narrative

Summary from the USDA FS Bridger Teton Avalanche Center report titled Radio Tower Peak Avalanche Accident: On Saturday, January 4 2025, at approximately 11 am, a group of four skiers unintentionally triggered an avalanche on a north-facing, sparsely treed slope above a steep-walled gully approximately one mile from the parking pullout for Breccia Mountain. The avalanche was remotely triggered from below as the party attempted to cross a gully beneath a wind-loaded ridge. The triggered weak layer was formed during a cold, dry period early in the season. The weak layer was responsible for the region's numerous human and snowmobile-triggered avalanches the week preceding this accident. This avalanche propagated 350' uphill to a wind-loaded 38-40 degree slope, broken by cliff bands and across three distinct avalanche paths. The avalanche crown was 400' across and ranged from one to four feet thick. The debris was a mixture of hard slab and softer surface snow, which slid 625 feet (400 vertical feet) into a terrain trap. The debris carried two members of the group, resulting in one serious injury and one fatality.

Wider weather episode

A group of four skiers unintentionally triggered an avalanche on a north-facing, sparsely treed slope above a steep-walled gully in the southern Absaroka Range, leading to one death and another person sustaining serious injury.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1229493. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.