Photos

From email 4/4/20: "...huge merengue like cornices on the east facing stuff lookers left of beehive peak. There was evidence of recent cornice collapses." Photo: T. Gittins

From obs. 4/4/20: "Avalanche today up portal creek. 2 1/2 ft crown and 4 - 5 ft runout. Triggered by snowmobile. Everyone was safe!"

A skier triggered this avalanche on Saddle Peak on Thursday, April 2. No one was caught. It appears to have broken under the new snow. Big avalanches in big terrain are usually unsurvivable.  Photo: GNFAC

A skier triggered this avalanche on Saddle Peak on Thursday, April 2. No one was caught. It appears to have broken under the new snow. Big avalanches in big terrain are usually unsurvivable.  Photo: GNFAC

From obs: "Ski cut released a thin slab. North aspect, slight opening in trees. 40' wide. 100' down the hill. 4~8" deep (new snow was ~18" above and below this area?). Was right at a roll over and broke to some trees. It only involved the steeper part of the slope and stopped as the pitch flattened.'

Photo: B. Jacobsen

From email on 4/2/2020 "fresh, natural slab avalanche this morning.  Estimated to be about 50' wide.  A north facing aspect around 9700'.  It looks to have been triggered by a sluff that came off the steep rocky terrain above."

Photo: B. Fredlund

Observed this slide on 4/2/2020. Appeared to be skier triggered today or yesterday. Photo: GNFAC

The annual fundraiser, Give Big Gallatin Valley, will be held 6 p.m. on April 30 to 6 p.m. May 1. The Friends of the Avalanche Center are participating again this year!

This tree near the north ridge shows no signs of wind during the storm. Photo: PC

"I skied near Quake Lake today, and observed several signs that the snowpack has not adjusted to this last storm yet. While ascending, several drifts collapsed under my weight, and I observed a very recent natural slide on a wind-loaded, east facing slope at about 9200'." Photo: Sam Reinsel

Cornices within Bridger Bowl have grown large since the ski area closed and stopped avalanche mitigation for the season on March 15th. Photo: GNFAC

Cornices within Bridger Bowl have grown large since the ski area closed and stopped avalanche mitigation for the season on March 15th. Photo: GNFAC

Observed this 8-12" slab on 3/30/20. Appears to have been triggered by cornice fall. Also observed several small wet loose slides from previous day and this morning. Photo: GNFAC

Cornices on the back side of Sheep mtn are getting huge. Guessing well over 25ft. They are right above a play area to the west of Ovis lake, and round Round lake. Photo: R. DeSilva

The red dashed lines mark the sides of the shallow avalanche that broke on surface hoar. It was triggered by a snowmobiler on 29 March in First Yellowmule (N aspect; 9500'). Photo: GNFAC

We dug this pit adjacent to a snowmobiler triggered avalanche. It broke on the surface hoar layer which is located at the top blue crystal card. The bottom card denotes the larger grains of facets that formed early in the winter. Photo: GNFAC

This surface hoar crystal is almost 1.5 cm (each square is 2mm) and was the weak layer in a few avalanches on Buck Ridge (3/29/20). Photo: GNFAC

There were many tracks in Buck Ridge and only a few small slides in First Yellowmule. This picture is looking SW towards Sphinx Mountain. Feathery crystals of surface hoar are buried 1-1.5' under the surface and are a concern. This layer seems to be more prevalent in protected areas. Photo: GNFAC

We saw this natural avalanche from afar. It was NE aspect and likely failed on a layer of surface hoar 1-1.5' deep. The Madison Valley is in the background. Photo: GNFAC

From obs (3/29/20): "...in Maid of the Mist basin there were multiple loose wet avalanches [and a slab] caused by a piece of the cornice falling off on Pt. 10201." Photo: N. Salsburg