Good morning. This is Eric Knoff with the Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Advisory issued on Monday, March 9, at 7:30 a.m. Bridger Bowl in partnership with the Friends of the Avalanche Center sponsors today’s advisory. This advisory does not apply to operating ski areas.
High pressure continues to dominate the weather pattern. This morning temperatures are in the 20s F under clear skies and winds are blowing 10-20 mph out of the west. Today, temperatures will be 10-15 degrees above average warming into the mid to upper 40s F. Skies will remain mostly clear and winds will continue to blow 10-20 mph out of the west. Spring like conditions will continue over the next few days.
Bridger Range Madison Range Gallatin Range
Lionhead Area near West Yellowstone Cooke City
The time sprung forward and so did our seasons - with highs forecasted in the mid to upper 40s F today, it will continue to feel like spring in the mountains.
Old stubborn wind slabs in alpine terrain continue to be our primary avalanche concern. Yesterday, Doug and I skied in Flanders Drainage up Hyalite and found most upper elevation slopes to be heavily wind affected. We did observe two slab avalanches that occurred last week - one natural and one human triggered. These slides failed up to one foot deep and ran on lower density, slightly faceted snow (video, photo). This problem still exists in isolated areas but continues to become less of a worry with no new snow, warmer temperatures and light winds.
A secondary avalanche problem today will be wet loose avalanches. Temperatures today will be 5-10 degrees F higher than yesterday, which will quickly destabilize the snow surface. Watch out for signs of instability such as point releases and roller balls and move to shadier aspects if these signs are present.
Today, unstable snow may still be found on isolated terrain features, but generally safe avalanche conditions exist and the avalanche danger is rated LOW.
Doug will issue the next advisory tomorrow morning at 7:30 a.m. If you have any snowpack or avalanche observations drop us a line at mtavalanche@gmail.com or call us at 587-6984.
AVALANCHE EDUCATION and EVENTS
1-hour Avalanche Awareness, Bozeman, REI, 6:30 - 8 p.m., Wednesday, March 11.