Northern Gallatin

We rode from the Buttermilk trailhead up Denny Creek to Lionhead Ridge, along Lionhead Ridge through Watkins Creek and to the motorized boundary at the head of Targhee Creek. 

There was a ~1" crust at the surface when we left the trailhead, with dry snow beneath. We saw our first wet loose avalanche of the day running around 11 am. By 12:30 there were dozens and many rollerballs. None of them ran particularly far or picked up too much volume.  The snow surface was moist on sunny slopes by late morning, but not more than a few inches down.

We saw one small slab avalanche that occurred since this weekend's snow. It appears to have been triggered by a snowmobile yesterday (4/1/24). It broke 10" to 2 ft deep, 50 ft wide, and ran ~50 vertical feet. It broke on a thin layer of facets beneath the new snow. Digging in the crown, dry facets at the ground were along still present and weak (fist hardness).

Signs of older avalanches were visible beneath the new snow, including one slide that broke in early March. No cracking or collapsing were observed today.

BZN Snow Rangers rode little bear to check boundary signs and see where closure encroachment issues had been occurring. Boy were we pleasantly surprised to see 10 new inches up high from the previous spring storm cycles which had set up nicely with minimal traffic. Snow was wind affected on high ridgetops but not on less exposed midslopes. Temperatures were below freezing in the morning but by 1400 higher temps and direct sunlight started to cause some roller balls and pinwheeling. We observed no new avalanche activity. There was one pair on a two-seater skandic, and another group of at least two mountain sledders who seemed far above our ability and eluded us despite our best efforts to find them.

200 cm snow depth. Soft on top moving to firm, cohesive layers through the pack. Some weak snow near ground.

We toured up to Flanders Mtn and saw a big, deep 2-6' deep avalanche that broke 300-500' wide in weak snow at the bottom of the snowpack. It broke across two separate start zones and included a lower angle ridge (still around 30 degrees) in between that slid. E-NE aspect at 9,800'. HS-N-R3-D3-O.  Photo: GNFAC

We toured up to Flanders Mtn and saw a big, deep 2-6' deep avalanche that broke 300-500' wide in weak snow at the bottom of the snowpack. It broke across two separate start zones and included a lower angle ridge (still around 30 degrees) in between that slid. E-NE aspect at 9,800'. HS-N-R3-D3-O.  Photo: GNFAC

We toured up to Flanders Mtn and saw a big, deep 2-6' deep avalanche that broke 300-500' wide in weak snow at the bottom of the snowpack. It broke across two separate start zones and included a lower angle ridge (still around 30 degrees) in between that slid. E-NE aspect at 9,800'. HS-N-R3-D3-O.  Photo: GNFAC

We toured up to Flanders Mtn and saw a big, deep 2-6' deep avalanche that broke 300-500' wide in weak snow at the bottom of the snowpack. It broke across two separate start zones and included a lower angle ridge (still around 30 degrees) in between that slid. E-NE aspect at 9,800'. HS-N-R3-D3-O.  Photo: GNFAC

We toured up to Flanders Mtn and saw a big, deep 2-6' deep avalanche that broke 300-500' wide in weak snow at the bottom of the snowpack. It broke across two separate start zones and included a lower angle ridge (still around 30 degrees) in between that slid. E-NE aspect at 9,800'. HS-N-R3-D3-O.  Photo: GNFAC

Skiers on 03/29/2024 saw this small avalanche on Hyalite Peak that had likely happened early that morning or the day before. Photo: W. Hubbard