We are now in Bozeman MT while skiing at Bridger Bowl as part of the annual Ski Hut trip.
This morning I had a lesson and my wife chose to stay in town. After the lesson I stopped at a mid=slope chalet for coffee and then went up for another run. I was so tired that I decided to ski back down to the base, have lunch, and then maybe go out again. This was about 11:30.
Some people in our group said that they had seen an avalanche from the lift and heard that people were in the area. Later Scott Neustel, owner of Ski Hut, came in looking distressed. He was on a nearby ridge when it happened and his group was told to stay put for a bit.
He had managed to take a picture of the avalanche and passed his camera around. Imagine the tree tops reaching to the bottom of an "e" in this text; the top of the avalanche cloud reached to the top of the "e". Some people said the snow was moving at 70-75 mph.
As of 4:43 MST, no one had been reported missing, but stories are circulating about close calls. The authorities are still checking by helicopter and snowmobile.
Anybody taking the lift to the high country is required to take a working transponder. But authorities never can be sure that somebody didn't take another route up.
When I drove back down, almost every turn out had people stopped and looking up at the mountains. I don't know what they could see other than a helicopter circling around.
