From obs: "Saw a big natural wet slide on the way to bell lake today, right before the trail and the road split. Went to the ground and looked like it took out some mature timber in the debris pile." Photo: H. Darby
Observed on 4/2/22. Observers noted the slide appeared to be a few days old and took out mature timber.
From obs: "Today my partner and I skied the Peruvian Face on the N side of 10,602 in Beehive Basin. We originally were going to ski Bolivia. I went out into the start zone on belay and decided to turn around due to an 8” hard slab on what appeared to be a decomposing, unsupportable sun crust. We then scrambled the ridge to the top of Peru. After the good ol throw a rock and see what happens test, the start zone appeared to be soft and slightly loaded. I made a ski cut across the top of the path and pulled out a 6-8” wind slab 30’ wide and ran 3/4 of the path. We then skied variable snow/debris to the bottom. There was evidence of wet loose activity from the previous warming on many aspects in the south fork of Spanish creek"
Thought I’d submit though you may have already seen this since the debris looked like it happened at least a few days ago! Saw a big natural wet slide on the way to bell lake today, right before the trail and the road split. Went to the ground and looked like it took out some mature timber in the debris pile.
Today my partner Henry and I skied the Peruvian Face on the N side of 10,602 in Beehive Basin. We originally were going to ski Bolivia. I went out into the start zone on belay and decided to turn around due to an 8” hard slab on what appeared to be a decomposing, unsupportable sun crust. We then scrambled the ridge to the top of Peru. After the good ol throw a rock and see what happens test, the start zone appeared to be soft and slightly loaded. I made a ski cut across the top of the path and pulled out a 6-8” wind slab 30’ wide and ran 3/4 of the path. We then skied variable snow/debris to the bottom. There was evidence of wet loose activity from the previous warming on many aspects in the south fork of Spanish creek.
Observation from the Y-couloir on Black Mountain in the Absarokas (outside of the advisory area) 4/1/22:
"Crown was 4-6” deep, approximately 30’ across (just shy of the width of the couloir). Ran the length of the couloir (~700’). Layer that slid consisted of new, unconsolidated snow. The slide was skier-triggered, skier stayed on his feet as it ran by them. We dug a pit beforehand on a similar aspect and got ECTPN. New snow concerns matched that of the forecast for today."
<p>Large avalanches are unlikely today. The chief concern to watch for is where this week’s new snow has been blown into deeper drifts. Look for cracks shooting out in front of your skis or snowmobile as a sign that you’ve found one of these drifts where you could trigger an avalanche. The deeper the drift, the larger resulting slide would be. Even a small avalanche can be dangerous in the wrong terrain, so be very mindful of the hazards lurking below you (trees, rocks, cliffs, etc). </p>
<p>While temperatures are going to rise well above freezing today, clouds should move in before wet snow becomes much of an issue. A dusting of snow this afternoon won’t do much to affect either the riding conditions or the avalanche conditions. If precipitation does start as rain, or sunshine sticks around longer than expected, watch for the surface snow becoming wet as this means you’ll soon be able to trigger small loose wet avalanches on steep slopes. If it gets wet more than a few inches deep, move off steep slopes.</p>
<p>While unlikely, it’s also not impossible to trigger a dangerous avalanche today on deeper weak layers (<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0w18Fxp-dmI"><strong><u>Flanders video</u></strong></a>). Cover your bases by going one at a time on steep slopes, watching your partners from a safe spot, and always carrying your avalanche rescue gear (avalanche beacon, shovel, probe).</p>
<p>The avalanche danger is LOW today.</p>
<p>If you get out, please send us your observations no matter how brief. You can submit them via our website, email (mtavalanche@gmail.com), phone (406-587-6984), or Instagram (#gnfacobs).</p>
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Crown was 4-6” deep, approximately 30’ across (just shy of the width of the couloir). Ran the length of the couloir (~700’). Layer that slid consisted of new, unconsolidated snow. The slide was skier-triggered, skier stayed on his feet as it ran by them. We dug a pit beforehand on a similar aspect and got ECTPN. New snow concerns matched that of the forecast for today.
On 3/25/22 skier observed two natural slabs on a W-SW aspect off Miller Ridge at around 9800'.
