Happy Holidays - Explore Big Sky

By Luke RiCe
OuTDOORS
“OK, Ray, my shot has a clean, dry
fuse end and is properly assembled,”
I said, and then looked up at veteran
Bridger patroller Ray Dombroski.
The sun lit his face as he listened.
He nodded. “I have a safe, makeable
placement, a dry igniter, our position
is safe from shrapnel and hazard
above, and our run out is clear. Our
contingency plan is to take our established
escape route to a safe location
on that knoll.”
Dombroski nodded again.
“Fire in the hole, upper Colter’s,” I
called in to dispatch on my radio.
On route at the Ridge, Peter Carse throws
an explosive into a newly loaded avalanche
starting zone. Photo by Luke Rice.
avaLanCHe ConTroL
aT Bridger BoWL
I cut an inch of fuse off, attached
and held a pull-wire igniter to the
fuse, then yanked the cap off the
igniter. The fuse smoked. I tossed
the shot just below a notorious,
avalanche-prone rollover.
Ray had already forged a path to our
safety zone through dense, kneedeep
powder, so my escape was quick
and safe. We hunkered down and
plugged our ears. 90 seconds after
I’d ignited the fuse, a deep boom
echoed along the narrow range of
mountains. Snow burst from the
blast, and the sonic clap shook a
blanket of new powder from the surrounding
trees and cliffs. The resulting
avalanche created a thick, white
cloud that plummeted through a
tight gully and over a cliff band.
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As Ray and I continued working the
C-south region of the Ridge on that
first day of avalanche control for the
2010-2011 season, we recited Patrol
Director Doug Richmond’s rules
for before lighting each shot. Later
in the season these rules become
ingrained in our routine, but for
now, we recited them to refresh our
memories on each critical point of
the process.
With no control work conducted
thus far on the Ridge, the snowpack
was backcountry. Because of this, we
travelled with our senses heightened.
Over the course of a season, and over
50 years of avalanche control history,
Bridger’s patrol has developed
an idea of how the snowpack is going
to behave before we’re even up doing
control work for the morning.
However, this early in the season our
information base was limited, so our
approach was one of caution.
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Since my life, my partner’s, and the
skiing public’s safety depended on the
decisions we make during avalanche
control work, we take this aspect of
the job very seriously. On the Ridge
even small avalanches can produce a
lot of harm to a person by knocking
someone over a cliff or into trees,
thus it is imperative that every hazardous
pocket of snow gets covered.
Ray and I chiseled large cornices
off the ridge-top, ski cut fields of
powder, and placed shots, all in an
attempt to find and flush out weaknesses
in the snowpack.
We finished and called ourselves in
clear to dispatch. The results from our
route were limited to small isolated
pocket avalanches, and new snow
sluffing, which indicated a relatively
well-bonded snowpack with limited
weaknesses. This will change over the
course of the winter, weaknesses will
develop, and it will be our job to stay
on top of the changes that take place
within the snow.
“Looks like we could be in for a good
season,” I said to Ray. Given that the
base was already over 40 inches and it
was only November, I couldn’t help
but be pleased.
“Yeah, I can’t remember the last
time we had this much snow before
Thanksgiving,” he replied with a grin
that showed almost 30 years of history
with the mountain.
We pointed our skis downhill and enjoyed
a few powder turns on our way
to help get the rest of the mountain
ready for an enthusiastic skiing community
waiting for the lifts to start
turning once again.
Luke Rice was born and raised in the
Shields Valley and graduated from
Park High School in Livingston. After
graduating from Colorado College with
a degree in environmental science, Luke
moved back to Southwest Montana. He
now resides in Bozeman and is a professional
ski patroller at Bridger Bowl.
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December 24, 2010 19