7 People Caught in Avalanche in Jackson Hole

Originally posted on Powder | By Izzy Lidsky | Last updated Feb 7, 2025 7:03 AM ET

On Monday, February 3, around 3:15 p.m., seven skiers were caught in an avalanche in the Jackson Hole backcountry.

According to reports by Bridger Teton Avalanche Center, six people were grouped together in the apron below the Lost Lifty in the JHMR backcountry. The seventh skier traversed the slope slightly above where the others had and triggered a large avalanche that propagated across the slope.

All seven skiers were carried by the avalanche. One person was partially buried in the slide. The other six skiers were relatively close and able to perform rescue on the buried skier, whose mouth was occluded with snow and sustained injuries. JHMR patrol responded to the incident and was able to assist in an evacuation.

The avalanche danger was rated as High across all elevations in the Tetons at the time of the slide. According to the avalanche report from February 3, dense new snow created a 2-3 foot thick slab on top of an old snow interface that was buried on January 31.

BTAC reported on a large crown in Central Couloir, also south of the JHMR boundary, and some smaller crowns on other steep features. "It should be noted that many large avalanches were triggered this morning with explosives by the Jackson Hole Ski Patrol," read the report.

The full report is available on the Bridger Teton Avalanche website.

As a reminder, there's no such thing as 'sidecountry.' As soon as you exit a resort gate, you're in the backcountry which means you need a beacon, probe, shovel, and clear understand of the avalanche conditions. Skiing out a resort gate doesn't mean its safer or that you'll be rescued faster in the event of an accident.

Anecdotally, the dumbest thing I've ever done was also out the JHMR gates. Just because you've skied a zone frequently or are familiar with the snowpack doesn't mean you're immune to the consequences of nuances in the snowpack you can't see.

This article first appeared on Powder and was syndicated with permission.

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