13-14

This avalanche was observed Thursday (2/6) north of Cooke City near Round Lake. It likely failed on a thin layer of facets near an ice crust. It occurred on a S aspect. Notice how this slide extends the full width of the photo. Avalanches are a red flag and wide propagation is a bad sign as well. Photo: A. Steckmest

Beartooth Powder Guides observed shooting cracks north of Cooke City near Zimmer Creek on Thursday (2/6) and collapsing the day before. Cracking and collapsing is bull's eye information that tells us conditions are unstable. Photo: A. Steckmest

This slide occurred early this week and was likely triggered by snow sloughing off the rocks above. It broke on a thin layer of facets just over a foot deep in an E aspect at about 9400 ft.. In Beehive, Middle and Bear Basins just north of Big Sky this layer can be found on most slopes but is only a problem on a few. Photo: GNFAC

Large surface hoar crystals found in Beehive and Middle Basins. Once these are buried they may be the next weak layer to watch out for. Photo: GNFAC

Skiers triggered three soft slab avalanches yesterday (2/5/14).  New snow on small-grained facets above an ice crust were releasing.  They were not large slides, but certainly large enough to bury you.  Photo: B. Fredlund

Wind is transporting snow in many ranges.  This picture was taken on the ridgecrest up Hyalite. Photo: B. VandenBos