On December 27, two snowmobilers were caught and killed in an avalanche on Scotch Bonnet Mountain, north of Cooke City. A group of 8 snowmobilers from Minnesota were on their second day of riding when 2 of their machines got stuck on the SE face of Scotch Bonnet Mountain. Two members of their group rode up to help them dig out and the avalanche was triggered soon after. It broke 4-5 feet deep, ran 300 feet wide and 500 feet vertical and killed 2 riders, burying them under 4-5 feet of debris. Everyone had rescue equipment and they were recovered by their party. Park County Sheriff Search and Rescue brought the victims to town. The avalanche broke on a layer of facets 1.5 feet off the ground underneath a thick slab of wind drifted snow. The avalanche is classified SS-AMu-R2-D2.5-O.
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