10-11

I found the layer of small-grained facets breaking and propagating in one of my snowpits.  I was surprised by this since we were not finding it on other slopes.  Even though this instability is isolated, its worth looking for.  Photo: Jordy Hendrikx

Southern Madison, 2011-02-21

GNFAC Avalanche Forecast for Sun Feb 20, 2011

Snowpack and Avalanche Discussion

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

The primary issue today will be wind slabs that have been formed by strong winds over the past few days. Prior to this latest storm the dominating wind direction has been from the WSW, which loaded north and east facing slopes. Over the past 24 hours the winds have switched and are now blowing out of the SSE, loading slopes that were previously scoured. This will add a twist to snowpack and terrain assessment.