Northern Gallatin

We skied Wheeler Mountain on Sunday Dec. 26. We approached via South Cottonwood. The creek is not yet frozen so the approach requires crossing in a narrow log about 40 yards upstream of the summer crossing. Snow depth remains low for most of the approach. We used the summer trail to the last prominent avalanche path and then switchbacked in the forest adjacent to it. We dug 3 pits in the area where the funnel opens up between 8000 and 8200 feet.
All pits had about 25 to 30 centimeters of sugary snow near the ground. All ECTs failed at the top of that sugary snow (none propagated).
Pit 1: Snow depth 60 cm, ECTN 23
Pit 2: Snow depth 90 cm, ECTN 18
Pit 3: Snow depth 115 cm, ECTN 29
Additional thoughts/info: Even though the tests suggest relatively stable conditions, we did not ski this aspect because the upper meadows that feed that avalanche path are in the “perfect” 30 to 40 degree range, the snow depth was highly variable, and those meadows feed into an ugly deep and narrow trench. Anyhow, we traversed further south and skied the large meadow at the south end of Wheeler Mountain where the steepest section is 30 degrees. The skiing was excellent and we got a great workout because it’s a long approach 😉.

We intentionally triggered this 6-8" deep wind slab on Saddle Peak on December 23, 2021, E aspect at 9,000'. It showed us that recently formed wind slabs were still reactive. This hard slab formed over low density new snow which made it unstable. While not large, these slides will easily push you down and can be harmful if they push you into hazardous obstacles or terrain traps. Photo: GNFAC

Pit from 12/22/21 at 9,850' on the NE face/shoulder of Mt. Blackmore. Snow depth was 111cm, first ECT was ECTN10 below the wind slab then ECTN22 on facets at 70cm. A second test was ECTN17 on that facet layer, then ECTP20 on depth hoar at 35cm. A third ECT was ECTP17 on the facets at 70cm, then a fourth ECT was another ECTP17....

North face of Mt. Blackmore on 12/22/21. South-southwest winds were moderate-strong and scouring more than loading it seemed like, but isolated slabs and whales of snow could be found. We did not get any drifts to crack or collapse. Fresh wind slabs were 2-4" thick, 1f-P hard, and not very continuous. Photo: GNFAC

I skied Mt. Blackmore this morning. The trail was in much better condition than last week. Good, not great, ski-in/ski-out coverage.

South-southwest winds were moderate-strong and scouring more than loading it seemed like, but isolated slabs and whales of snow could be found. I did not get any drifts to crack or collapse. Fresh wind slabs were 2-4" thick, 1f-P hard, and not very continuous...

I dug a pit high on the NE face/shoulder. As I moved from the ridge to a loaded slope of the face snow depth went from 12" to 36" over about 6 feet. I dug where it was 111cm and my first ECT was ECTN10 below the wind slab then ECTN22 on facets at 70cm. A second test gave ECTN17 on that facet layer, then ECTP20 on depth hoar at 35cm, so I did a third ECT which gave ECTP17 on the facets at 70cm, then a fourth ECT repeated that ECTP17... pit attached. I was moving into shallower snow as I got more unstable results, down to about 90cm HS. Anyway, I didn't think I would trigger an avalanche on that layer, but it did give me pause to be any further out or higher on that face where it was steep. I didn't intend to go higher or further out anyway, mainly due to not wanting to deal with the winds any higher up on the ridge/summit. Even though I feel danger for that PWL is low, the ECTPs were enough to ensure I stayed conservative.

For the long term I think the snowpack is not great, especially the higher you go. We will need to stay conservative with these facets mid-pack (30-70cm) (throughout the area). Since they are not hair-trigger or showing obvious signs of instability with these small recent storms I fear we (or someone) will get surprised with a cumulative loading or big wind event, or who knows... As usual, it comes down to: the snowpack has layers, it could avalanche [at some point, somewhere], be careful out there.

*I will add my pit and photo(s) to the website, I just wanted to test the obs submission form.

Found some fassets about 1.5' below the surface after a quick hand pit. Total snow depth was about .5-1' less than my pole.

My partner and I dug a pit at the bottom of the lick creak meadow today in a wind protected area about 50-60cm deep to dirt. We scored a ECTN 20 and were unable to sheer the column off across the entire 90cm block.

The snow above our pit was significantly shallower and very wind affected with a punchy wind crust in the ski down