23-24

<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>Buried weak layers of sugary snow continue to create the main avalanche concern, and a person can trigger large to very large avalanches that break multiple feet deep and hundreds of feet wide. Additionally, slabs of snow 1-2 feet deep can be triggered where moderate winds drifted 1-4” of recent snow into thicker slabs. Loose wet avalanches in the recent snow are not likely with today’s cloud cover, but above freezing temperatures create a slight chance and make it worth mentioning these small, but powerful slides.&nbsp;</span></span></span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>Steer clear of fresh drifts on steep slopes. A common sign these are unstable is seeing cracks shoot across the snow from your skis or feet. Be cautious of wet loose avalanches if you find a moist snow surface. While these two potential avalanche types are relatively small, they are forceful and especially harmful if they carry you into trees, rocks or over cliffs, and can be deep enough to bury a person.</span></span></span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>Avalanches breaking deeper on sugary weak layers may be less likely, but they will be large and highly consequential. Most recently, last Tuesday two skiers near Mt. Blackmore triggered this type of avalanche. One of the skiers was caught and injured, and rescued by GCSAR with a helicopter (</span></span></span></span></span></span><a href="https://www.mtavalanche.com/node/31526"><span><span><span><strong><em><… and photos</span></span></u></em></strong></span></span></span></a><span><span><span><span><span><span>). Last week there was a huge remotely triggered slide in the Absarokas (</span></span></span></span></span></span><a href="https://www.mtavalanche.com/node/31460"><span><span><span><strong><span…;), and a big slide broke naturally on the north face of Mt. Blackmore (</span></span></span></span></span></span><a href="https://www.mtavalanche.com/node/31432"><span><span><span><strong><span…;).&nbsp;</span></span></span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>This </span></span></span></span></span></span><a href="https://youtu.be/K_t6Fi6wUC4?si=7YL80dNe5pSqJUsL"><span><span><span><st…; from early January reminds us of the very poor foundation of the snowpack supporting all the snow that has since fallen. The current potential hazard is made clear by an impressive list of avalanches over the last 2-3 months (</span></span></span></span></span></span><a href="https://www.mtavalanche.com/avalanche-activity"><span><span><span><stro… log</span></span></u></span></strong></span></span></span></a><span><span><span><span><span><span>). Assessing the stability of these deeply buried weak layers is difficult. To manage this problem, the best strategy is careful terrain selection and sticking to safe travel practices.</span></span></span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>Choose smaller and simpler slopes with minimal wind-loading and clean runouts free of trees, cliffs, rocks or confined gullies. Only expose one person at a time to steep slopes, watch your partners from a safe spot while they’re on those slopes, and make sure everyone carries rescue gear (avalanche beacon, shovel, and probe). Today, heightened avalanche conditions require you to identify and avoid areas of concern if you plan to travel in or near avalanche terrain. The avalanche danger is MODERATE throughout the forecast area.</span></span></span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>A couple inches of snow yesterday, accompanied by strong winds, added a new avalanche concern - slides breaking a foot or two deep beneath newly formed wind drifts. Watch out for and steer clear of these wind drifts to entirely avoid this hazard or carefully evaluate how well the drifted snow has bonded to the old snow surface. Cracks shooting out in front of you mean that you’ve found an unstable drift and should back off steep slopes. These slides could easily push you into trees, rocks or off a cliff or pile snow up plenty deep to bury you.</span></span></span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>Avalanches breaking deeper in the snowpack are less likely, but still very possible. Every couple days for the last two weeks someone has triggered a big, deep slide. The latest was near Mt. Blackmore on Tuesday, breaking 3 feet deep, catching one skier and causing injuries that required a helicopter evacuation (</span></span></span></span></span></span><a href="https://www.mtavalanche.com/node/31526"><span><span><span><strong><em><… and photos</span></span></u></em></strong></span></span></span></a><span><span><span><span><span><span>). Last week’s slides include a similar one in the Taylor Fork that caught a snowmobiler (</span></span></span></span></span></span><a href="https://www.mtavalanche.com/node/31479"><span><span><span><strong><span… and photos</span></span></u></span></strong></span></span></span></a><span><span><span><span><span><span>), a huge remotely triggered slide in the Absarokas (</span></span></span></span></span></span><a href="https://www.mtavalanche.com/node/31460"><span><span><span><strong><span…;), and a monster on the north face of Mt. Blackmore (</span></span></span></span></span></span><a href="https://www.mtavalanche.com/node/31432"><span><span><span><strong><span…;). With the deeply buried weak layers, reliably assessing the likelihood that one of these slides will break on any particular slope is challenging if not impossible. This means that your best tool for mitigating the hazard is sticking to safe travel practices - only exposing one person at a time to steep slopes, watching your partners from a safe spot while they’re on those slopes, and making sure everyone is carrying rescue gear (avalanche beacon, shovel, and probe).&nbsp;</span></span></span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>The avalanche danger is rated MODERATE throughout the entire advisory area.</span></span></span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>The freezing levels are around 9,000’ in the northern ranges and 8,000’ in the south. Clouds, wind and dropping temperatures won’t allow the snow to melt much further, but a unique situation is presenting itself: potential snowfall on a wet surface. This could create a weak layer called melt-layer recrystallization (</span></span></span></span></span></span><a href="https://vimeo.com/912650583"><span><span><span><strong><span><u><span><… video</span></span></u></span></strong></span></span></span></a><span><span><span><span><span><span>).</span></span></span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>Without sunshine, warming and melting, the </span></span></span></span></span></span><span><span><span><span><em><span>wet</span></em></span></span></span></span><span><span><span><span><span><span> snow avalanche danger is gone. However, the weak snow near the ground is still a problem. Two days ago a large avalanche was triggered near Mt. Blackmore when this layer failed. One skier was injured and extricated by Gallatin County Search and Rescue (</span></span></span></span></span></span><a href="https://www.mtavalanche.com/node/31526"><span><span><span><strong><em><… and photos</span></span></u></em></strong></span></span></span></a><span><span><span><span><span><span>). Our snowpack throughout the forecast area is more similar than not. Right now, when a large avalanche happens we extrapolate that instability to our entire area. My </span></span></span></span></span></span><a href="https://youtube.com/shorts/PyHc_9gjFWA"><span><span><span><strong><span…; from Saddle Peak shows weak snow at the bottom of a 7’ deep snowpack. Ian found a similarly poor structure in Portal Creek which dovetails with our entire region’s snowpits and field videos (</span></span></span></span></span></span><a href="https://www.mtavalanche.com/node/31543"><span><span><span><strong><span… video and obs</span></span></u></span></strong></span></span></span></a><span><span><span><span><span><span>; </span></span></span></span></span></span><a href="https://www.mtavalanche.com/snowpits"><span><span><span><strong><span><…;).&nbsp;</span></span></span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>The snowpack is in transition today as precipitation falls (both rain and snow) and the temperature drops. This transition is dynamic and snow does not like quick change. Today we need to be vigilant in the backcountry because our uncertainty is high. The snowpack is being poked in unusual ways and it might catch us off guard. Given the deeply buried weak layer of faceted snow, mistakes can result in large avalanches. Getting into avalanche terrain is not out of the question, but it’s a bigger gamble given today’s changing weather, changing snow surface and extra uncertainty. Basically, it’s a little funky out there.</span></span></span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>The avalanche danger throughout our entire forecast area is a serious MODERATE.&nbsp;</span></span></span></span></span></span></p>