20-21

<p>Wind drifts of new snow can avalanche with the weight of a skier or rider today. These slides will mostly be small, but watch out for deeper drifts where avalanches could be large enough to bury someone. Pay close attention to the texture of the surface snow. If you find cohesive, stiff, windblown snow, check to see how deep the drift is and how well bonded that drift is to the old snow surface before getting onto steep slopes.</p>

<p>As the strong spring sun hits the new snow, it will rapidly lose cohesion and you will be able to trigger wet loose avalanches. These slides will be confined to the new snow, but may run long distances on hard crusts. Rollerballs and pinwheels are signs that wet loose avalanches are imminent. Wet loose avalanches will be the largest and most problematic on slopes where the new snow is deepest. Even small avalanches could push you off cliffs or into trees and slides may gain a surprising amount of volume as the new snow gets wet for the first time.</p>

<p>The avalanche danger today is MODERATE today in Gallatin Range, Madison Range, and Lionhead area.</p>

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<p>With only a dusting of new snow in the Bridger Range and near Cooke City, large avalanches are unlikely.&nbsp; The same concerns exist as in the rest of the advisory area, but less new snow means any avalanche you do trigger will be smaller. Consider the consequences of even a small windslab or wet loose avalanche if you’re planning to ride in very steep or extreme terrain. If you do find a deeper drift or more new snow than expected, a larger avalanche could break. Tone down your terrain choices accordingly.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The snowpack is mostly stable and the avalanche danger is LOW.</p>

<p>If you get out, please send us your observations no matter how brief. You can submit them via our <a href="https://www.mtavalanche.com/node/add/snow_observation"><strong><u>websi…;, email (<a href="mailto:mtavalanche@gmail.com"><strong><u>mtavalanche@gmail.com</u></str…;), phone (406-587-6984), or Instagram (#gnfacobs).</p>

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<p>Large avalanches are unlikely today. The lower snowpack is mostly stable and the new snow that fell earlier in the week has now bonded to the old snow surface.&nbsp;</p>

<p>While temperatures are warm this morning, the cold front passing through today will generally keep the snow surface from softening more than a few inches deep. Any wet loose avalanches will be small and not much of an issue outside of very steep high consequence terrain. Still, be on alert if you do find yourself sinking deeper into wet snow. There may still be some low elevation slopes that have not solidly refrozen (<a href="https://youtu.be/O0zg6kr5eyw"><strong><u>low elevation wet snow video</u></strong></a>).&nbsp;</p>

<p>Snow showers this afternoon may drop a few inches of new snow by nightfall. Westerly winds will drift any new snow into thin cohesive slabs. These drifts will only be a couple inches deep and won’t pose much of a hazard. Be heads up if you find an unexpectedly deep drift of new snow.&nbsp;</p>

<p>As Alex outlines in his <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3YlG7KO6zA"><strong><u>video</u></stro…; from yesterday in Cooke City, conditions can change rapidly in the spring. Expect conditions to become more dangerous anytime there is a substantial amount of new snow or temperatures significantly above freezing.</p>

<p>Today, watch out for isolated pockets of wet snow and small wind drifts. Keep using good travel protocols just in case you get surprised: always carry avalanche rescue gear, only expose one person at a time to steep slopes, and watch your partners from a safe spot.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The avalanche danger is LOW.&nbsp;</p>

<p>If you get out, please send us your observations no matter how brief. You can submit them via our <a href="https://www.mtavalanche.com/node/add/snow_observation"><strong><u>websi…;, email (<a href="mailto:mtavalanche@gmail.com"><strong><u>mtavalanche@gmail.com</u></str…;), phone (406-587-6984), or Instagram (#gnfacobs).</p>

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<p>Monday afternoon through Tuesday morning the mountains received 0.4-0.6” of precipitation except for the Northern Gallatin Range and the Taylor Fork, which received 1.0-1.2”. At higher elevations, this equaled 5-10” of snow with less at lower elevations where precipitation began as rain. Our avalanche concerns also vary by elevation. Yesterday, we rode into the Taylor Fork. The low elevation snowpack was an unsupportable, wet mess with small wet avalanches on steep cut banks in contrast to upper elevations where a thick crust supported us&nbsp;and the primary concern involved avalanches from drifts of new snow (<a href="https://youtu.be/O0zg6kr5eyw"><strong>video</strong></a&gt;).</p>

<p>Today, rising temperatures and sunny skies will create two problems:</p>

<ol start="1" type="1">
<li>The new snow will get wet and easily slide on the crust below. These avalanches will not be very deep, but the heavy snow will pack a punch.</li>
<li>Crusts that formed during cooler temperatures the last two days will begin to break down, and larger wet slab avalanches will be possible (<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YIajdl9hhyo"><strong>wet slab video</strong></a>). This concern will start in lower elevations and sunnier aspects and expand through the day. Sunday’s natural wet slab up the Main Boulder, outside our advisory area, is a good example of this hazard (<a href="https://www.mtavalanche.com/images/21/wet-slab-main-boulder"><strong>ph…;).</li>
</ol>

<p>Managing wet snow avalanches is a matter of timing (<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MA7kV6fb-Q"><strong>wet snow timing video</strong></a>). Be out the door early and off steep slopes before temperatures rise and the sun blasts the snow. The snowpack will be generally stable other than isolated wind slabs while it is cold and frozen and will become unstable as the surface snow gets moist and the underlying crust breaks down.</p>

<p>Due to changing stability throughout the day, the danger is rated MODERATE and human-triggered avalanches possible.&nbsp;</p>

<p>If you get out, please send us your observations no matter how brief. You can submit them via our <a href="https://www.mtavalanche.com/node/add/snow_observation"><strong>website<…;, email (<a href="mailto:mtavalanche@gmail.com"><strong>mtavalanche@gmail.com</strong></a…;), phone (406-587-6984), or Instagram (#gnfacobs).</p>