Jackson, Wyoming landslide now moving fast enough to observe

Efforts have stopped to build a tall concrete barrier to stall part of the East Gros Ventre Butte from giving away. The incipient slide has changed from movement too slow for the naked eye to fast enough to draw a crowd. Cracks and bulges were noticed about a week ago, and a small part of northwest Jackson was evacuated (Budge Drive). Rain, snowmelt, and human activities at the toe of the slide and also on it are blamed for situation. Today and Tuesday rain will move into the valley - Jackson Hole.

For years roads, homes and businesses have slowly crowded the base of the landmark butte and begun to climb onto it. Busy U.S. Highway 89 (West Broadway Ave) parallels Budge Drive 200 to 400 further to the south. Despite the proximity of the slide to the highway artery into the busy resort community, Wyoming Department of Transportation (WDOT) still thinks the slide will not come down quickly onto the highway. Some onlookers yesterday were not so sure. See the story in the Jackson Hole Daily by Ben Graham.


The mountains adjacent to Jackson, mostly backcountry and wilderness, are notable for many landslides, most of them slow movers. However, the Snake River mountain range to the southwest of town, including some sections above busy Highway 89 in Snake River Canyon and U.S. 191 east of Hoback Junction have slide areas highway users know well. The grandaddy of slides, however, is the famed Gros Ventre slide east of Kelly and Jackson Hole. It gave way in late spring of 1925, fueled by springtime conditions and perhaps a few small earthquakes.

In 1996, deep in the Teton Wilderness (Gravel Creek), we camped on what turned out to be a moving landslide. We broke camp quickly and ran when cracks opened up 100 feet downslope from our tent and the downed logs began to pop and crack. The entire hill slope came down later and formed a temporary small lake.

Source: Jackson Hole Daily