21-22

<p>It remains possible to trigger an avalanche in the mountains around West Yellowstone and Cooke City. It’s been 6 days since the end of the last storm and while each day without snowfall does help the snowpack settle and stabilize, we still don’t completely trust the snowpack (<a href="https://youtu.be/1z0BBwxFFQE"><strong><u>Lionhead video</u></strong></a>). Skiers in the southern Madison Range yesterday saw several natural avalanches on Red Mountain (<a href="https://www.mtavalanche.com/images/22/avalanches-red-mountain"><strong>…;). These slides (along with a large slide on Sage Peak - <a href="https://mtavalanche.com/node/25494"><strong><u>photo</u></strong></a&gt;) likely broke last weekend, but provide examples of the sort of large avalanches that could still be triggered today. Digging to test the snowpack is your best bet to identify slopes where the weak layers at the ground remain unstable. The avalanche danger is MODERATE.</p>

<p>Avalanches are unlikely in the mountains around Big Sky and Bozeman. On Buck Ridge yesterday, I found the lower snowpack has been gaining strength and stabilizing (<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOQF5jw9ojY"><strong><u>video</u></stro…;). In general, the snowpack is now mostly stable. This does not mean it is impossible to trigger a slide. Yesterday, skiers in the northern Bridger Range saw a natural avalanche that likely failed several days ago (<a href="https://www.mtavalanche.com/images/22/natural-avalanche-near-fairy-lake…;) and got propagation under a wind slab in their Extended Column Tests. These signs of instability led them to choose to ski a mellower line than they had initially intended. This is the right mindset for today - be on the hunt for areas of isolated instability and look for reasons to back off your objectives. The avalanche danger is LOW near Big Sky and Bozeman.</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>

<p>Avalanche conditions are stabilizing in the southern portions of the advisory area as we become further removed from the last storm. However, as Doug and Ian noted from Lionhead, we are not ready to fully trust the snowpack because deeply buried weak layers still demonstrate the ability to fail and propagate, the two components necessary for a slab avalanche (<a href="https://youtu.be/1z0BBwxFFQE"><strong>video</strong></a&gt;). Yesterday, a group in Cabin Creek spotted the crown of a large slide on Sage Peak in the Taylor Fork that likely broke early last weekend (<a href="https://mtavalanche.com/node/25494"><strong>details and photo</strong></a>). The destructive force of an avalanche of this size makes me think twice before jumping into steep terrain without a thorough snowpack assessment and evaluation of the terrain, even as slides become less likely. Last week’s <a href="https://www.mtavalanche.com/avalanche-activity"><strong>avalanche activity</strong></a> in Cooke City provides a similar warning of the possibility of dangerous, human-triggered slides.</p>

<p>The avalanche danger is MODERATE with large, human-triggered avalanches possible.</p>

<p>While <em>variable </em>snow surface conditions exist in the Northern Madison, Northern Gallatin and Bridger Ranges (<a href="https://www.mtavalanche.com/images/22/wind-sculpting-bridgers"><strong>…;), the avalanche conditions are generally safe. Doug described these conditions in his <a href="https://youtu.be/4bHDClbuKT8"><strong>video</strong></a&gt; from Beehive Basin early this week. Two days ago, a group in the Northern Bridger Range remembered that <em>low danger</em> is not synonymous with <em>no danger, </em>so they continued to assess the snowpack as they climbed a steep couloir and backed off 150’ from the top when they found a weak structure that made them second guess stability. If you are exploring avalanche terrain, you should follow the same program, hunt for areas of isolated instability as a reason to back off your objectives while considering ways in which the terrain may amplify the effects of a small slide.</p>

<p>The avalanche danger is LOW, and human-triggered avalanches are unlikely.</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>