Northern Madison Range

Get into the mountains early to enjoy the 3-6” of new snow before it gets wet, sticky, and less stable. Dry snow avalanches are possible in steep terrain where winds drift this new snow into thin slabs, and the likelihood of wet snow avalanches starting at a point and fanning out as they slide will increase as temperatures increase and the sun warms slopes this morning. Head home before the risk of wet snow avalanches and afternoon lightning increases.

This is our final daily avalanche forecast for the season. We will post updates on Mondays and Fridays through the end of the month. We really appreciate the support, shared enthusiasm, and all the observations we have received throughout this winter.

There are a few factors that make the early-in, early-out mantra important today: melting surface crusts, the increasing potential for wet snow instability, and afternoon thunderstorms.

In the mountains around Bozeman, West Yellowstone, and Island Park, most slopes start the day stable while surface crusts are supportable. The likelihood of wet loose avalanches will increase by late morning as temperatures increase under a warm April sun. On Friday, a group in Beehive Basin had a good mindset and altered plans when they observed deteriorating conditions by 9:45 AM (observation). This afternoon, rain on snow at elevations of 8,000’ and below will be an unwelcome destabilizing factor. Regardless of the exact timing or cause, move out of steep terrain if the surface of the snowpack becomes wet and slushy in more than the upper few inches.

In the Northern Madison Range, wet loose avalanches within the 3-6” of new snow are likely in steep terrain as morning sun and warming temperatures heat surfaces. While temperatures were below freezing overnight, the new snow may have insulated the old snow surface, creating a weird semi-frozen interface to evaluate. In upper-elevation terrain, you may encounter instability within slabs of wind-drifted snow near ridgelines. These will generally be less than 6” thick with shooting cracks demonstrating instability. Both wet snow and dry snow avalanches in the Northern Madison Range will be relatively small, with consequences driven by the terrain more than the size of the slide.

The Cooke City area got a solid freeze and will remain cooler today. The inch or two of snow last night and again this afternoon is unlikely to meaningfully change the avalanche danger. Cloudy skies will limit the size of wet loose avalanches, and any drifts of wind-loaded snow will be thin. Lightning accompanying the afternoon snowfall should drive your backcountry travel schedule as much as the wet- or dry-snow instability.

The danger is MODERATE in the mountains around Bozeman, Big Sky, West Yellowstone, and Island Park. And LOW in the mountains around Cooke City.

This is our final daily avalanche forecast for the 2025-26 Season. Beginning tomorrow and running through April, we will post general avalanche conditions updates on Mondays and Fridays. Thank you all for a great winter season! We really appreciate the support, shared enthusiasm, and all the observations we have received throughout this winter.

Keep the observations coming. They will appear on the observation page and help inform members of our backcountry communities.