Island Park

Persistent weak layers buried in the upper 3 feet of the snowpack and recent wind drifts make human‑triggered avalanches possible. Look for shooting cracks, dig and test before you commit to avalanche terrain, and treat drifted slopes steeper than 30 degrees with added suspicion. Select smaller, less steep, and wind-sheltered terrain with fewer traps like gullies, trees, or rocks that are less likely to avalanche and carry less consequence if they do. Avoiding slopes steeper than 30 degrees without overhead hazard is the easy way to avoid avalanches entirely.

If you get into the mountains today, you may wonder what’s missing. Hint, it’s the wind, above freezing temperatures, and much of the soft snow that fell last week. Don’t despair, you can still find fun conditions in sheltered areas that remain cooler (higher elevation and north-facing). That said, there was a lot of avalanche activity last weekend, and the risk of human-triggered snow slides remains with us as we move into the week.

Persistent slab avalanches failing on weak layers buried 2-3 feet deep are the primary concern in most areas. This weekend, people triggered slides from flat ground or from a distance, as seen in Saturday’s slide in the Northern Gallatin Range (video and details), triggered a 2-foot deep slab while skiing in Cooke City (photos and details), and watched a natural avalanche run, again in the Northern Gallatin Range (photos and details). Don’t expect obvious red flags, such as collapsing or cracking, today. Either avoid avalanche terrain, assuming weak layers exist and could avalanche, or dig and evaluate the upper 3 feet of the snowpack before committing to steeper slopes.

Strong winds that began Saturday finally eased, but not before wreaking havoc on snow surfaces. They have built wind slabs 1–3 feet deep on some slopes and sent recent snow on others to the Dakotas. Due to high wind speeds, drifts may appear at mid‑elevations or in sheltered pockets, not just below ridgelines. On Sunday, skiers noted significant wind-loading and shooting cracks in the Divide Peak basin (observation). And on Saturday, a snowboarder triggered a wind slab avalanche in the Northern Madison Range (photo and details). Cracking, stiff, or chalky surfaces, and fresh pillows of snow are all warning signs of instability and recent drifting.

Make a plan:

• Beacon, shovel, probe, and one at a time in avalanche-exposed terrain.
• The simplest way to avoid avalanches is to stay on slopes with an angle under 30 degrees, but if steeper terrain is on the agenda…
• Look for slopes protected from the wind and steer clear of steep, drifted features.
• Retreat to or remain in terrain less than 30 degrees when observations of instability are present (avalanches, collapsing, cracking, unstable test scores).
• Harm reduction: select smaller slopes with fewer traps like gullies, trees, or rocks that carry less consequence should they avalanche.

The danger is MODERATE across the forecast area.