Photos

Displaying page 6 of photos 101 - 120 of 525
Northern Madison, 2019-03-20

Wet slab avalanches will be a growing concern as free moving water travels through the snowpack. This problem is most likely on mid to low elevation slopes that have a shallow snowpack and poor structure. Be aware of wet slabs as temperatures warm and the snowpack becomes increasingly unstable. Photo: GNFAC 

Northern Madison, 2019-03-20

Warm temperatures are causing large cornices to lose strength. Be cautious when traveling on slopes below cornices and give them a wide berth along near ridgelines. Photo: GNFAC 

Northern Madison, 2019-03-20

Above freezing temps and direct sunshine are creating unstable conditions on steep sun-exposed slopes. This problem is most common in steep rocky terrain or areas with a shallow and weak snowpack. Move to shadier aspects or away from steep terrain if point releases are occurring. Photo: GNFAC 

Lionhead Range, 2019-03-20

This photo near Lionhead, is indicative of the wet loose avalanches we are seeing on many low elevation, south facing slopes throughout our advisory area. Daytime temperatures near 50F will make avalanches like this more frequent and widespread in the coming days.

Northern Madison, 2019-03-19

Slab avalanche that broke on Fan Mountain near Big Sky on 3/15/2019. Photo taken on 3/18/2019. Photo: J. Hageness.

Link to Avalanche Details
Cooke City, 2019-03-17

A small wet loose and slab avalanche on a SW facing slope near Daisy Pass. These slides were observed on March 17th, 2019. The wet loose looked at least a day or two old, the small slab a bit older. The slab broke ~18" deep at the ground, near some rocks. This slope had an unusually shallow snowpack.

Link to Avalanche Details
Northern Madison, 2019-03-17

This avalanche ran on Friday (3/15) near Big Sky. It was probably triggered by a cornice fall during warm temperatures late in the day. Photo: E. Howard

Link to Avalanche Details
Out of Advisory Area, 2019-03-17

Low angle metal roofs have heavy, thick slabs of snow that built up during persistent cold temperatures. These slabs will slide during warm temperatures. Be on the lookout for overhead hazard and be cautious where you walk or park your car during warm sunny days. An additional urban hazard are large icicles are that will break during warm days. Photo: A. Schauer

Out of Advisory Area, 2019-03-17

This slide was triggered by a snowmobiler on Saturday (3/16) south of Virginia City. Photo: J. Hagar

Link to Avalanche Details
Northern Madison, 2019-03-17

"A few small wet loose releases were observed in areas without skier traffic but were confined to the top couple of inches on top of our previous high pressure surface.  The attached pic is the largest of those wet loose results and was a size 1 in Buffer Chute, in the Upper A-Z’s and occurred after that terrain had closed for the day." Photo: BSSP

Link to Avalanche Details
Bridger Range, 2019-03-17

On Saturday (3/16) in the northern Bridger Range we saw natural and skier triggered wet loose slides that were small, but could have severe consequences if they catch you in unforgiving terrain. Photo: GNFAC

Link to Avalanche Details
Bridger Range, 2019-03-17

We saw old wind slab crowns near Fairy Lake on Saturday (3/16). These types of slides are now unlikely to trigger, but worth keeping in mind in steep heavily wind loaded terrain. Photo: GNFAC

Bridger Range, 2019-03-17

We saw old wind slab crowns near Fairy Lake on Saturday (3/16). These types of slides are now unlikely to trigger, but worth keeping in mind in steep heavily wind loaded terrain. Photo: GNFAC

Northern Gallatin, 2019-03-15

On Friday (3/15) dry loose avalanches were easily triggered on steep terrain in Hyalite. Six inches of recent snow easily slid on crusts buried below it, and was drifted into small wind slabs near ridgelines. These types of small slides are typically not large enough to bury a person, but are dangerous if they catch and carry you over cliffs or into trees. Photo: GNFAC

Link to Avalanche Details
Northern Gallatin, 2019-03-14

This dry loose avalanche was intentionally triggered by a skier in Hyalite. Although generally small, dry loose avalanches can generate enough force to push skiers or riders into rocks or trees. Photo: C. Kussmaul 

Link to Avalanche Details
Northern Madison, 2019-03-13

A skier reported watching a group trigger this windslab near Beehive Peak. Slab was 6-8" thick, 100' wide, and ran for around 600'. Luckily, nobody was caught or buried. This photo was taken near the toe of the debris pile.

Link to Avalanche Details
Northern Madison, 2019-03-13

A skier reported watching a group trigger this windslab near Beehive Peak. Slab was 6-8" thick, 100' wide, and ran for around 600'. Luckily, nobody was caught or buried. Skiers are circled in the bottom left of the frame for scale.

Link to Avalanche Details
Northern Madison, 2019-03-13

On southwest facing slopes in Beehive there was a layer of well developed facets under the melt freeze crust at the surface. If the weather forecast holds true, sunny skies and above freezing temperatures will destroy these. If they get buried deeply they could be a future problem. Photo: GNFAC

Bridger Range, 2019-03-11

Skiers in the Northern Bridgers noted signs of instability in wind-transported snow and were able to trigger a wind slab. From the email: "My partner and I toured up in the Northern Bridgers today near Ainger Lake and found conditions to be more touchy than we expected. The wind was blowing hard when we entered the basin, and we observed some snow transport. As we got higher, we observed variable wind affected snow and thin wind slab, and dug a pit finding no notable weak layers aside from the wind slab which was breaking off in chunks as we skinned. We witnessed a shooting crack through the wind slab that was 2-5 cm thick where we were, and soon after triggered a small slide and turned around. At its deepest the crown was around 15 cm thick, so a lot thicker than what we had previously been seeing! It wasn't a problem where we were, probably about enough to knock someone down and take them for a short ride, but could have been consequential in more dangerous terrain." Photo: E. Birkeland

Link to Avalanche Details
Bridger Range, 2019-03-11

Skiers in the Northern Bridgers noted signs of instability in wind-transported snow and were able to trigger a wind slab. From the email: "My partner and I toured up in the Northern Bridgers today near Ainger Lake and found conditions to be more touchy than we expected. The wind was blowing hard when we entered the basin, and we observed some snow transport. As we got higher, we observed variable wind affected snow and thin wind slab, and dug a pit finding no notable weak layers aside from the wind slab which was breaking off in chunks as we skinned. We witnessed a shooting crack through the wind slab that was 2-5 cm thick where we were, and soon after triggered a small slide and turned around. At its deepest the crown was around 15 cm thick, so a lot thicker than what we had previously been seeing! It wasn't a problem where we were, probably about enough to knock someone down and take them for a short ride, but could have been consequential in more dangerous terrain." Photo: E. Birkeland

Link to Avalanche Details