21-22

<p>The snowpack across the advisory area is generally stable and the expected snow won’t be enough weight to change this. However, don’t mistake today’s overall stability to mean an absence of weak layers. Riders and skiers have spotted a feathery layer of weak surface hoar growing from West Yellowstone to Cooke City. When it gets buried today, this will be our new layer of concern until proven otherwise (<a href="https://mtavalanche.com/images/22/surface-hoar-near-cooke-city"><strong… photo</strong></a><strong>, </strong><a href="https://mtavalanche.com/images/22/west-yellowstone-surface-hoar"><stron… photo 1</strong></a><strong>, </strong><a href="https://mtavalanche.com/images/22/surface-hoar-formation-lionhead"><str…;). It will not be a significant hazard with the minimal snow arriving today, but it will be as it gets buried deeper. Help us map its extent by <a href="https://mtavalanche.com/node/add/snow_obs"><strong>letting us know</strong></a> if you see it on the surface or see shooting cracks and surprising reactivity in today’s inch or two of new snow.</p>

<p>Without significant new loading, Doug and Alex remind us to focus on the basics during times of low danger by testing the snowpack, assessing for isolated instabilities and employing safe travel practices (<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmstU9sCAmM"><strong>Doug in the Bridger Range</strong></a><strong>, </strong><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gxJKiQe_Jo"><strong>Alex in Cooke City</strong></a>). Groups in the Madison, Northern Gallatin and Bridger Ranges have reported <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gk8W8nlUMpw"><strong>snowpits</strong><… have&nbsp;failed and propagated in isolated areas, indicating a potentially unstable combination of a buried weak layer and an overlying slab of snow (<a href="https://mtavalanche.com/images/22/ernest-miller-ridge"><strong>photo</s…;). These groups (and all the ones who are reporting stable test results) are nailing it! They know that even though avalanches are generally unlikely, they need to test stability to make a slope-specific forecast before skiing or riding. If they identify areas of isolated instability, they go somewhere else. Keep it up.</p>

<p>Today, human-triggered avalanches are unlikely to break deeper than the 1-2” of new snow that falls during the day, and the 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>website<…;, email (<a href="mailto:mtavalanche@gmail.com"><strong>mtavalanche@gmail.com</strong></a…;), phone (406-587-6984), or Instagram (#gnfacobs).</p>