Archived Advisory for Tue Apr 1 2008

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TUESDAY, APRIL 1, 2008

Good morning. This is Doug Chabot with the Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Advisory issued on Tuesday, April 1st, at 7:30 a.m. Sweet Pea Landscaping, in partnership with the Friends of the Avalanche Center, sponsor today’s advisory. This advisory does not apply to operating ski areas.

MOUNTAIN WEATHER

Yesterday’s snowfall dropped 4-6 inches over most of our area, except around Big Sky and Cooke City where less than an inch fell. Winds have increased slightly and are now blowing 10-20 mph out of the west to southwest. Temperatures rose into the low 20’s before dropping into the single digits this morning. Today will start out with sun, becoming mostly cloudy by this afternoon. A small disturbance could dust us with an inch of snow by morning.

SNOWPACK AND AVALANCHE DISCUSSION

The Bridger Range

The Bridger Range got 5 inches yesterday with light westerly winds. Over the weekend the range got hammered with backcountry skiers who found mostly good, stable turns. However, we’ve heard of a few shallow avalanches being triggered too. Karl triggered one Friday near Bridger Peak. On Sunday another skier released one 4-6 inches deep off the south summit of Saddle Peak (photo: http://www.mtavalanche.com/photos/photos.php ) and a snowboarder got a 4-6 inch pillow to go on a very steep, 55 degree slope in the northern part of the range. Although all these slides were small, shallow and on steep terrain, they are a warning that some slopes are suspect. As one observer put it, “People are doing silly things (skiing high consequence lines) because they’re super trusting of the snowpack.” Check the slope out before you drop your sick line. I skied off the shoulder of Saddle on Sunday on stable snow next to a dozen tracks while someone else triggered a small slide ½ mile to the south on a similar aspect. Since the Bridgers got more snow and the winds have picked up slightly, the avalanche danger is rated MODERATE on slopes steeper than 35 degrees and LOW everywhere else.

The northern Gallatin and northern Madison Ranges:

Skiers on Mt Blackmore in the northern Gallatin Range as well as reports from the mountains surrounding Big Sky are all indicating stable snow. The only exception would be on steeper, wind-loaded slopes where it’s still possible to trigger a slide. Any avalanche activity would be limited to the upper, new snow from last week. For today, the avalanche danger is rated MODERATE on wind-loaded slopes steeper than 35 degrees and LOW elsewhere.

The southern Madison and southern Gallatin Ranges, the Lionhead area near West Yellowstone, the mountains around Cooke City, and the Washburn Range:

An unusual thing happened yesterday—the mountains surrounding Cooke City didn’t get any snow. I know it sounds crazy, but that’s no April Fool’s joke. After 3 feet of new snow last week the hose finally ran dry. Other mountains to the south got 4-6 inches yesterday with light southwest winds. You’ll want to be careful on anything wind-loaded, but you’ll also want to pay attention to steep slopes since a thin, weak layer is buried 2-3 feet under the surface. Although this layer has gained a lot of strength over the last 2 weeks, it’s still on our minds. Mark saw it near Cooke City on Friday, I saw it earlier last week in Taylor Fork and I’m on the hunt for it today in the Lionhead. For today, the avalanche danger is rated MODERATE on all wind-loaded terrain. On slopes without a wind-load the avalanche danger is also MODERATE if the terrain is steeper than 35 degrees and LOW on less steep.

Ron Johnson will issue the next advisory tomorrow morning at 7:30 a.m. If you get out in the backcountry let us know what you found. You can reach us at 587-6984 or email us at mtavalanche@gmail.com

LAST ADVISORY

Our 126th and last avalanche advisory of the season will be issued next Sunday, April 6th.