Regional Conditions for Northern Gallatin

The 10' deep avalanche in 2nd Yellowmule is almost completely filled in now. In its place are massive cornices overhanging the slope. Give these beasts a lot of extra room as they can break back far from the edge. Photo: GNFAC

Ian Hoyer stands in a snowpit in Beehive Basin. Avalanches are getting harder to trigger, but in more shallow areas we are still finding a poor snowpack structure. The stability test scores are climbing higher, but still propagating and we did not ski the adjacent slope. Photo: GNFAC

February 1, King and Queen of the Ridge at Bridger Bowl (fundraiser). This is the Friends of the Avalanche Center’s second biggest fundraiser of the year. Come on out and help us raise money by hiking and skiing laps on the ridge. Prizes, camaraderie and a good time is guaranteed. Register with Bridger to hike in the event, and create a pledge page to raise funds with your Ridge laps.

"A photo of a few natural avalanches on the NE face of the unnamed peak at the back of the basin. They appear to be cornice triggered, shallow crown depths no more than 1-2 feet deep. I also observed a natural avalanche on the E face of Mt. Bole that appeared cornice triggered, but couldn't get a good picture. The crown depth varied but probably 2-3 feet deep at most." Photo: M. Lavery

Seen from the summit of Mt. Blackmore in Hyalite on Saturday 1/25. Photo: S. Peterson

We skied at Mt. Ellis on 1/24/20 and had 3-10' cracks break around our skis. The snowpack is very sugary, unsupportive and weak. Photo: GNFAC

The snowpack on Mt. Ellis on January 24, 2020 is shallow and weak. It is not yet unstable, but would only need 6-12" to be very dangerous. Photo: GNFAC

From email:

"I wanted to make you aware of a snowmobile triggered slide in Lionhead today. Fortunately, I was not injured, was able to stay completely on top, climbed through the majority of the snow wash after seeing it begin to break, and relatively slowly slid down with the last of the moving snow while still on the machine. When I came to a stop, I stood up and was completely free of the snow. Our group is trained in avalanche safety, practiced beacon use prior to leaving town in the morning, were wearing avy gear, and were very fortunate that this ended up the way it did. 

A clear reminder that this can happen to any of us and to be careful out there."

Photo: Anonymous 

A skier was skinning uphill, breaking trail and triggered this avalanche on 1/19/20. They reported, " released a small pocket near texas meadow. Maybe 50 ft wide, 2 ft crown and ran 150 ft....I was not caught and nobody was buried or injured. I was skinning up at about 1130...I got to where it was steeper and as I reached thinner snow near rocks I felt a whump. I took one more step and the pocket released."

Avalanche triggered by skiers on Flander's peak in Hyalite on 1/18/20. Nobody caught or buried, but they were surprised and it covered another groups skin track. Photo: J. Riedel

Avalanche triggered by skiers on Flander's peak in Hyalite on 1/18/20. Nobody caught or buried, but they were surprised and it covered another groups skin track. Photo: J. Riedel

The crown of this snowmobiler triggered avalanche tapered to a thin slab. These thin areas of the slope are prime zones to trigger a slide from. Photo: GNFAC

Photo: C. Kussmaul

From obs: "There is a small east facing basin that’s between Divide Peak and Maid of the Mist Basin. While walking along the ridge that connects the two, my partner intentionally broke off a large piece of a cornice, which then triggered two substantially sized avalanches in the basin below. The first avalanche was directly beneath the collapsed cornice with a crown 6-12 inches deep and about 30 ft across. The second avalanche was triggered by the 1st avalanche and had a crown of similar depth but was substantially larger. It was hard to see as the crown travelled uphill and around a corner. The ascpet was E and SE, at the elevation of 9,600ft. The pictures I got are poor, but should give you an idea of the size." Photo: C. Kussmaul

"... while touring in the Northern Bridgers, my partner and I noticed a very large avalanche that occurred on a North face in "October Bowl" just to the south of Hardscrabble Pk. We didn't witness it and are unsure of a trigger, but we came in contact with all parties believed to be out there and assume it occurred naturally early this morning from heavy wind-loading. The crown seemed to be 2-3' deep but stepped down to the ground about 200' below the crown. The slide was about 400' in width and ran about 1,000' and we assumed classifications of R3.5 and D3. Debris pile was expansive and deep, and prompted us to stick to Southern aspects."  Photo: McKinley Talty

These natural avalanches likely occurred on Saturday, January 11. New snow and wind loaded slopes and we saw other slides as we rode around. Photo: GNFAC

This natural avalanche in 3rd Yellowmule on Buck Ridge likely occurred on Saturday, January 11. It was a wind loaded and very steep slope. It broke on facets near the ground and was big enough to bury a person (D2). The size was 2-3' deep, 200' wide and 75' vertical. Photo: GNFAC

This natural avalanche in 3rd Yellowmule on Buck Ridge likely occurred on Saturday, January 11. It was a wind loaded and very steep slope. It broke on facets near the ground and was big enough to bury a person (D2). The size was 2-3' deep, 200' wide and 75' vertical. Photo: GNFAC

We visited the avalanche that was triggered by a snowmobiler and partially buried 2 people on January 4th. The crown was 10 feet at the deepest part. Photo: GNFAC

"We did notice a few recent natural avalanches on wind loaded north aspects in aprons below large cliffs and underneath large cornices (D0.5 - D1, max depth 1m, max width 30m) but these seemed to mostly be small soft storm slabs. - One recent crown near the top of the Mummy (30cm deep) looked to have run naturally on an old crust layer (photo)" - Photo: Zachary Miller

"Beauty of a day up in Hyalite so long as you didn't mind the wind. The SW/W winds were cranking and clearly transporting snow all day at ridgetop...We did notice a few recent natural avalanches on wind loaded north aspects in aprons below large cliffs and underneath large cornices (D0.5 - D1, max depth 1m, max width 30m) but these seemed to mostly be small soft storm slabs." -  Photo: Zachary Miller

This slide was triggered by Bridger Bowl ski patrol during control work on Saturday (1/4/2020). It shows deeply buried persistent weak layers from early October and November were pushed to a breaking point by the recent snow and wind. A person can trigger avalanches like this on heavily wind loaded slopes in the backcountry. Additionally, shallower large avalanches can be triggered on any steep slope. Photo: BBSP

A party of three skiers remote triggered avalanche with at least 6' crown off N face of Mt Porphry along rockband near summit on 12/29/19. They triggered it after tyhey had found "Three pits dug on NE face ascending Mt Porphry indicating increasing stability and no clean propagation. Approx 150-210 cm deep snowpack." Photo: G. Alsentzer

This small wind slab was remotely triggered while skinning into the Maid of the Mist basin. Throughout the day they continued to encounter other small, reactive wind slabs and strong winds. Small avalanches are a warning sign that larger ones are possible. Photo: Sam Wilson

Although there was 3' of snow at 8,200' on the Throne, the snowpack was very thin for most of the way in. Photo: GNFAC

Riders near Fairy Lake reported this slide on Saturday 12/21. Photo: @turbo_dieshall

From IG message: "5' thick wind slab just behind little bear remote triggered riding along the ridge." @skidooin_it

From Instagram: "Couple of small natural wind slabs around 10,200’ NE in Hyalite. Not sure exactly how recent. Played it conservative and chose to stay off a similar slope." B. Gill

From an email, "... our party observed several small to medium-sized releases that occured on a heavily-loaded east aspect overnight. None stepped down in the snowpack, but they certainly could have taken a person for a ride. Overalll, stability seemed to be good, with the exception of isolated wind-loaded areas." Photo S. Reinsel

From e-mail:" While on a tour in Hyalite yesterday [12/15],... On some steeper pitches near rocks bands, we observed top layer slough that moved naturally. We also observed a small crown from a day or two ago that broke between two buried rocks and only ran about 50 feet down slope." Photo: Tommy S

This large avalanche was triggered intentionally by the Bridger Bowl Ski Patrol at the ridgeline above little Slushman's Ravine. They were cutting a cornice and it broke 7 feet back from the edge, 4 feet deep and 150 feet wide. It was a hard slab avalanche and ran 1150 feet. It was east facing and broke on a crust formed in the early season. It's code is HS-AC-R2-D3-O-TL. Photo: BBSP

We put up the Taylor Fork weather station today (12/03) and it is churning out hourly data. Check it out here: https://www.mtavalanche.com/weather/stations/taylor-fork

We partnered with the Gallatin Valley Snowmobile Association to put in two new beacon checkers at the Taylor Fork and Buck Ridge trailheads. They are working great!

Thanks GVSA! Photo: GNFAC

We recognize that backcountry skiing can be daunting to approach. That’s why Ben Goertzen and the Friends of the Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Center have teamed up to help breakdown some of the most prominent barriers of entry to backcountry skiing through this campaign. One lucky winner will be given a complete backcountry skiing kit, a spot in an avalanche awareness course, and featured in a three part video series that ends with an excursion into the backcountry with professional skier and filmmaker, Ben Goertzen . These videos will be used by the Friends of GNFAC to help other aspiring backcountry skiers gain awareness, knowledge and start to breakdown their barriers to entry.

Click Here for More Details on How to Enter

Watch the Backcountry Barriers Launch Video: https://vimeo.com/376473804

This avalanche of wind-drifted snow was triggered with a ski cut on a southeast aspect at 9,800'. Photo: T. Chingas

This slide was triggered up Hyalite from 100' away. It was a wind loaded slope at 9,000', northeast aspect. Photo: T. Chingas

From an observation:

When approaching the base of Mt. Blackmore this morning at roughly 8:45am we observed strong swirling winds at higher elevations (summit of Blackmore and the Elephant/Blackmore Saddle). The winds we observed were primarily loading snow onto E and SE facing aspects. Furthermore, we witnessed four naturally triggered avalanches over a twenty minute span. All slides appeared to be D1/D2 on E and SE aspects and, seemingly, restricted to the newly loaded snow. Photo: SAM

From an observation:

When approaching the base of Mt. Blackmore this morning at roughly 8:45 am we observed strong swirling winds at higher elevations (summit of Blackmore and the Elephant/Blackmore Saddle). The winds we observed were primarily loading snow onto E and SE facing aspects. Furthermore, we witnessed four naturally triggered avalanches over a twenty minute span. All slides appeared to be D1/D2 on E and SE aspects and, seemingly, restricted to the newly loaded snow. Photo: SAM

This natural avalanche released on Saddle Peak. wind loading from west winds created sensitive wind slabs this morning. Photo: S. Jonas