Island Park

Generally safe avalanche conditions exist. Recently formed wind driftshave largely stabilized, leaving small, dry, loose avalanches that start at a point and entrain sugary surface snow as the primary problem. Note and navigate around any isolated instabilities related to the weak, sugary snow surface and wind slabs in extreme terrain where a small avalanche would have significant consequences. Follow the fundamentals of safe backcountry travel - beacon, shovel, probe, and one-at-a-time on steep slopes while a partner watches.  

Generally safe avalanche conditions exist across the forecast area. Recently formed wind drifts have generally stabilized, leaving small, dry loose avalanches that start from a point and entrain sugary surface snow as the primary avalanche problem.

Dry loose “facet sluffs” are possible, but with their small size, don’t pose much of a hazard outside of technical and extreme terrain where they could knock a skier or rider down the hill, causing injury or piling up more deeply in terrain traps. Last week, a ski guide in Cooke City intentionally triggered a long-running facet sluff, demonstrating the problem (details). Without triggering a slide, uncohesive, sugary snow making up the top foot of the snowpack will be the primary indicator that these loose snow avalanches are possible. We have observed these conditions widely across the forecast area (Bacon Rind video, Taylor Fork video, Beehive video, Hebgen video, Bridgers video). Watch our YouTube video explaining the process of near-surface faceting if you are curious about how this layer forms.

While wind slab avalanches are generally unlikely, the mountains around Bozeman, Big Sky, and Cooke City have had more recent snow (weather log), so there is a slightly higher chance of encountering an isolated drift that remains unstable. If you are traveling in wind-loaded terrain, a quick pit in the upper two feet of the snowpack will help inform your decision-making. While the likelihood has decreased, we can look at last week’s avalanche activity to understand the locations (near ridgelines and under cornices) and potential size (4-18” deep) of wind slab avalanches. In the mountains south of Big Sky, and near West Yellowstone and Island Park, there has been little snow in the past few weeks. It is quite unlikely that you’ll encounter an unstable wind slab; if you did, it would be thin and relatively inconsequential outside of extreme terrain.

The avalanche danger is LOW throughout the forecast area. Follow the fundamentals of safe backcountry travel - beacon, shovel, probe, and one-at-a-time on steep slopes while a partner watches. Note and navigate around any isolated instabilities related to the weak, sugary snow surface and wind slabs in extreme terrain where a small avalanche would have significant consequences.

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