Don’t let your excitement about a late season powder day override your good judgement. Large, natural and human triggered avalanches are likely in the new snow. Avoid all steep slopes at upper elevations, because they have the most new and wind drifted snow. Carefully evaluate the new snow before getting into steep terrain at middle and lower elevations. Wet Loose avalanches will quickly become dangerous if the sun pokes through the clouds.
These slides will be bigger on wind loaded slopes, but even without windloading, there is plenty of new snow for them to be dangerous on most slopes, particularly at upper elevations.
These will rapidly become a serious issue if the sun breaks through the clouds.
New snow and wind loading are the primary drivers of the avalanche danger this morning. Warm temperatures and sun may come into play as well if skies clear.
It has been snowing hard in the Bridger Range. Keep your powder fever in check because conditions will be quite dangerous. With a foot and a half of new snow at upper elevations and winds drifting that new snow, expect Storm Slab avalanches to be breaking naturally and easily triggered. Be very suspicious of the new snow anywhere you find more than 10 or 12”. Avoid steep slopes entirely where the new snow is deepest and very carefully investigate how well the new snow is bonded before getting onto any steep slope. Stay on high alert for signs of instability. Large Wet Loose avalanches will rapidly become a very serious problem if the sun pokes out. The avalanche danger is HIGH at upper elevations in the Bridger Range.
Across the rest of the forecast area, Wind Slab avalanches are the primary concern. Yesterday, I found the new snow generally well bonded near Cooke City and Mark found the same near Big Sky. On the other hand, Big Sky Ski Patrol was able to easily trigger wind slabs breaking 4-8 inches deep (and it continued snowing and blowing overnight). Wind drifts will be most widespread at upper elevation and beneath ridgelines. Steering clear of these drifts will dramatically reduce the likelihood of triggering a slide today. On non-windloaded slopes, in the places where it has snowed more, Storm Slab avalanches are possible. Watch for cracks shooting out in front of your skis or sled and dig down to the firm crust to do a quick Extended Column Test to check for instabilities before committing to steep terrain. If the sun breaks through the clouds at any point, expect Wet Loose avalanches in the new snow almost immediately. These could start at your feet or come down from above you. The avalanche danger will increase as you gain elevation today: CONSIDERABLE danger at upper elevations, MODERATE danger at middle elevations, and LOW danger at low elevations.
NOTE about Bridger Bowl - The ski area is now closed and open for uphill travel with backcountry conditions. There is no ski patrol performing avalanche mitigation or ready to help if you get hurt. Our terrain selection has to be different than when the ski area is operating.
