This is Alex Marienthal with pre-season avalanche, weather and event information for the Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Center on Tuesday, October 24. This information is sponsored by The Friends of the Avalanche Center.
POWDER BLAST FUNDRAISER, FRIDAY OCTOBER 27
The Powder Blast is the Friends of the Avalanche Center's biggest fundraiser of the year, and it is back in person for 2023! Join us for an incredible evening of socializing, eating, drinking, dancing, and bidding on auction items. Get your tickets, donate, and start bidding for items in the silent auction on our GalaBid Website.
Friday, October 27 at 6:30 p.m. @ Emerson Cultural Center
$60 for great food, music by Missy O'Malley, incredible auction items, and an in-person raffle.
Thank you to all the generous sponsors of the 2023 Powder Blast!
The National Weather Service has issued winter storm warnings throughout our forecast area, with heavy snow at times tonight through Thursday. Temperatures will drop to single digits and teens F by Thursday, and over a foot of snow is possible in most mountain ranges.
For current weather data check our weather stations in Cooke City, Hyalite, Lionhead and Sawtelle Peak, as well as Bridger Bowl’s weather stations, and SNOTEL sites throughout our advisory area. We will update the Weather and Avalanche Log daily and issue pre-season bulletins as needed.
Snow is already on the ground on some high elevation slopes, and we have received our first reports of avalanches which occurred last week (Mt. Blackmore, Pine Creek). Before your first day on the snow, take time to ensure your avalanche rescue gear is working properly and consider refreshing your avalanche skills with a class or two this season. See our education calendar for a list of all local classes.
This time of year avalanches are not uncommon, and have injured and killed people in past early seasons (accident reports). Starting this week, if you plan to travel in the backcountry, whether skiing, climbing or hunting, prepare for avalanches like you would mid-winter.
- Carry a beacon, shovel and probe at a minimum. Helmets are a necessity as well.
- Travel one at a time in avalanche terrain (all snow covered slopes steeper than 30 degrees).
- Avoid steep slopes with fresh drifts of snow, especially where a slide could push you into rocks, trees or pile up deep in a confined gully.
- Cracking and collapsing of the snow are bulls-eye information that the snow is unstable, and clear signs to avoid steep slopes.
- As the snow piles up it is a good idea to dig to see the layers below the recent snow. Avoid steep slopes if you find weak, sugary snow underneath new snow or drifted snow.
We are preparing for winter and beginning to collect snowpack information. If you have an avalanche, snowpack or weather observation to share. Please submit them via our website, email (mtavalanche@gmail.com), phone (406-587-6984), or Instagram (#gnfacobs).
Upcoming Avalanche Education and Events
Our education calendar is full of awareness lectures and field courses. Check it out: Events and Education Calendar.
This accident report from October 2012 in the northern Bridger Range, and this report from the tragic fatality six years ago in early October are reminders of the potential consequences of even a small avalanche.