Looking south from Big Sky at the snowboarder triggered slide in the sidecountry. Steep and rocky terrain. This is bulls-eye data that other slopes could avalanche too. Photo: Big Sky Ski Patrol
Cooke City
The snowpack in many places like on this west facing slope on Lionhead has 2 weak layers. One is near the ground that formed in early December. The other is in the middle of the snowpack that formed in late January. While both have gained a lot of strength both have produced recent avalanches. Photo: GNFAC
This photo was taken from on top of one large debris pile from an avalanche that occurred late last week (about Feb 20). Both avalanches broke about 4-5 feet deep on facets that formed in early December. We have not seen avalanches on this layer lately, but these are a major clue that others could occur. Photo: GNFAC
This cornice triggered avalanche produced a big debris pile (6-10 feet deep) because it broke near the ground. It likely happened on Monday, Feb 25. Photo: GNFAC
This slide occurred Monday (Feb 24). It broke at the ground and was triggered by a falling cornice. The debris pile was 6-10 feet deep. We belived this slope avalanched previously this season. Another recent slide can be seen to the right. Photo: GNFAC
The weak layer of facets that formed in January is buried under 80 cm of snow and was not breaking in any of my stability tests. It is gaining strength annd stability with each passing day. It's still worth keeping an eye on, but the trend is very positive. Photo: GNFAC
Cooke City
