Northern Gallatin

From obs 5/7/23: "Natural R3-4, D4 ripped out a large chunk of the south face of Wilson during the last warm period I would assume. Debris everywhere and one large boat-sized pile even scoured a path further down than the rest of the debris. Looked to be a mix of wet loose and wet slab release from high up. Alpha angle at the bottom of the debris was 25 degrees" Photo: C. Ellingson

Give Big Gallatin Valley is May 4-5. The Friends of the Avalanche Center are participating again this year and thank you for your support. Between 6pm on May 4 through 6pm on May 5 you can support your favorite local non-profits. Donate Here.

From Big Sky Ski Patrol: "Temps remained a little cooler than yesterday and generally topped out in the mid 40’s F. That didn’t stop the free water from moving
and continuing to destabilize the snowpack, primarily on solar aspects below 10,000’. Near full depth to full depth wet loose avalanches continued to naturally release in what was left of the A-Z’s as well as LRT which had not seen any activity yesterday." Photo: BSSP

We toured in Hyalite today. By 10:30 in the morning we saw wet, natural avalanches coming down east facing cliffs. We also saw several pinwheels from yesterday. By noon we were at 9,900' on a SE facing aspect, and the snow surface was wet at this altitude. Once we were down at 9,000' the top 8" of snow was wet, and it was beginning to move as a slab on small rollovers.

From obs 4/7/23: "Small wind slab triggered by snowmobile. Slope was assessed by group as wind blown before climb.  No one was caught. East facing slope, Storm castle Ridge. Photo one shows trigger point where the Snowmobiler carved hard and set off the slab deeper in the snowpack"

From obs 4/7/23: "Small wind slab triggered by snowmobile. Slope was assessed by group as wind blown before climb.  No one was caught. East facing slope, Storm castle Ridge. Photo one shows trigger point where the Snowmobiler carved hard and set off the slab deeper in the snowpack."

From obs 4/7/23: "Small wind slab triggered by snowmobile. Slope was assessed by group as wind blown before climb.  No one was caught. East facing slope, Storm castle Ridge. Photo one shows trigger point where the Snowmobiler carved hard and set off the slab deeper in the snowpack"