Northern Gallatin

Wet slide in Avalanche Gulch

Date
Activity
Ice Climbing
My partner and I were approaching Responsible FamilyMan via Avalanche Gulch early yesterday morning (3/18), and once we broke through the trees into the runout zone, we stumbled across a pretty large wet avalanche debris field. The debris terminated within ~50 yards of the max runout zone. It appeared to be a point release from a couple of pitches up (as we found no crown), and it just entrained a whole lot of snow on the way down. I've included some pictures.
 
We finished our day around 1:00pm when the gulch started receiving sun and hastily made our way back to the valley. 30 minutes of direct sun was all it took for us to notice rollerballs and a lot of meltwater seeping down the rocks.
Region
Northern Gallatin
Location (from list)
Hyalite - main fork
Observer Name
Robbie Parsons

Poor snow structure on Saddle Peak

Date
Activity
Skiing

On the drive up we could see a wet slide from yesterday that occurred in Argentina bowl, human triggered. We also got a report of a wet slide in St Lawrence path in Truman Gulch (not big). We toured along the ridge to the summit of Saddle. By 1000 the snow was softening. We dug below the first cliff band and found 7' of snow, the bottom 2' consisting of weak facets. A Deep Tap Test showed a clean shear at this interface. An avalanche could be triggered by 3 ways: more load from snowfall or wet avalanche debris, melt-water percolating through the snowpack to the facets, or human triggering from a thin spot.

By 1100 the snow was getting wet and punchy at lower elevations. Loose wet slides could trigger dry slab avalanches, a proposition we did not want to hang around for.

 

Region
Bridger Range
Location (from list)
Saddle Peak
Observer Name
Doug Chabot

Wet loose snow avalanche Mt Blackmore

Mt Blackmore
Northern Gallatin
Code
WL-AS-R1-D1
Elevation
9750
Aspect
SE
Latitude
45.44440
Longitude
-111.00400
Notes

From IG:

Southeast aspect on Mt Blackmore. Unknown time and date. Elevation 9700 to 9800’

Number of slides
1
Number caught
0
Number buried
0
Avalanche Type
Wet loose-snow avalanche
Trigger
Skier
R size
1
D size
1
Problem Type
Wet Snow
Images
Wet, loose snow avalanche mount Blackmore
Snow Observation Source
Wet loose snow avalanche Mt Blackmore
Slab Thickness units
centimeters
Single / Multiple / Red Flag
Single Avalanche
Advisory Year
23-24

Wet loose snow avalanche Mt Blackmore

Date
Activity
Skiing

From IG:

Southeast aspect on Mt Blackmore. Unknown time and date. Elevation 9700 to 9800’

Region
Northern Gallatin
Location (from list)
Mt Blackmore
Observer Name
Cooper Daniels

Avalanche on Arden Peak

Date
Activity
Skiing

saw this massive slide that spanned between the "Fat Maid" peak and all the way across Arden from the summit of Palace Butte yesterday.

 

 

 

Region
Northern Gallatin
Observer Name
Paul Neubauer

Divide Basin

Date
Activity
Skiing

Toured on the east ridge of Divide Peak this morning. From the summit, we saw at least three, if not more, large slab avalanche crowns and debris in Divide Cirque and surrounding basins. There were also a handful of visible wet loose slides and point-releases in the area. Winds were blowing out of the north but only really felt at ridge tops. Otherwise, it was incredibly warm. A bit after noon, the upper 6-8 inches of snow surface on the east shoulder had been impacted by the sun and wanted to slide on an old melt freeze crust below the surface. 
 

It was so beautiful up there today but the sun was powerful! The trail up and the basin were heavily impacted with the high temperatures and low wind. 

Region
Northern Gallatin
Location (from list)
Divide Peak

Graupel in Hyalite

Date
Activity
Ice Climbing

Localized observation for the Grotto Falls trailhead and G1 climbing area. An inch of graupel on the surface that probably fell in the late afternoon? I don't know how widespread it is, but very prominent in this area.

Region
Northern Gallatin
Location (from list)
Hyalite - main fork
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