24-25

A member of the Bridger Bowl Ski Patrol reported a relatively small, natural avalanche between the North and South Saddle Peak (in an area appropriately referred to as "Between the Peaks").

Number of slides

Number caught

Number buried

Avalanche Type

Soft slab avalanche

Trigger

Natural trigger

R size

D size

Problem Type

Wind Slab

Read more about Small Wind Slab Avalanche Saddle Peak

Vertical Fall

150ft

Slab Thickness units

centimeters

Single / Multiple / Red Flag

Single Avalanche

Advisory Year

24-25

Upper Hyalite Canyon

Date

Fri, 12/27/2024 - 14:35

Activity

Skiing

Toured to Upper Hyalite Canyon to Divide Peak and we were pleasantly surprised. The layer of weak facets buried almost 2' deep up there has gained some hardness (4 fingers hardness instead of Fist hardness). It produced more promising test scores than we've been seeing in other places.

ECTN at 9000', NE facing
ECTP30 at 9560' E facing
ECTP27 and ECTP23 at 9600' SE facing

We did not experience any cracking or collapsing. There had been strong winds three days ago, but it didn't seem like winds have moved much snow since then and there was lots of great powder skiing.

This is just one observation but it is perhaps a hint that this layer could heal in the reasonable future. Continuing to bury this layer with light snowfall would do it.

For now, we're cautiously optimistic that we found one place with decent-ish looking snow. Hyalite and the entire Northern Gallatin Range is a large place with a lot of variability and likely many places with plenty of weak snow that warrants digging and assessing the weak layer.

Region

Northern Gallatin

Location (from list)

Divide Peak

Observer Name

Staples & Zinn

Beautiful day in Beehive/Middle Basins

Date

Fri, 12/27/2024 - 14:00

Activity

Skiing

We skied Middle Basin and Going Home Shoot today. Around 9am, wind was calm with a high OVC cloud ceiling. By 10:30, the clouds rolled in and S-1 to S1 began for about 2 hours. The clouds raised, snow ceased, and the sun peaked through by 12:30pm.

No cracking, collapsing or evidence of avalanches were observed throughout the day. Middle basin skied well with ~6-10” of recent snow in places- the formation of a new snow slab seemed to be in the making. Although wind was calm today, cornices and windboard were apparent on the Beehive-Middle Ridge.

Region

Northern Madison

Location (from list)

Beehive Basin

Observer Name

E. Webb

Cooke City Weekly Update - 27 Dec 2024

Read more about Cooke City Weekly Update - 27 Dec 2024

GNFAC Avalanche Forecast for Fri Dec 27, 2024

Snowpack and Avalanche Discussion

Human triggered avalanches are LIKELY today. The weight of the new snow is overloading widespread weak layers buried 1-2 ft deep (<a href="https://youtu.be/4xSA_C9cPuc?feature=shared"><s… Park video</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKh0OZ-BnUs"><s… Rind video</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yuTTHqltBiw"><s… video</a>). Wind loaded slopes will have the deepest slabs of new snow and will be especially touchy, but slopes without wind effect could slide too.

Yesterday, we got reports of cracks shooting out up to 100 feet in the southern Madison Range with only 2” of new snow (<a href="https://www.mtavalanche.com/node/32643"><span…;). This is a clear indication that weak layers have been pushed right to their tipping point. I don’t expect widespread natural avalanching today - but if you get onto or even near a steep slope, expect to trigger a Persistent Slab avalanche.

Stick to slopes less than 30 degrees in steepness that aren’t below or connected to steeper slopes.

As the areas around Island Park and West Yellowstone continue to be favored for snowfall over the coming days, we expect the danger to rise in these areas this weekend.

For today, the avalanche danger is CONSIDERABLE.

Without as much new snow, triggering a slide isn’t quite as likely in the northern Gallatin Range. The same snowpack setup exists as elsewhere and large, dangerous Persistent Slab avalanches are possible, but the weak layers haven’t been loaded as heavily. Watch out for windloaded slopes where the new snow has been drifted into deeper slabs. Look for shooting cracks, collapses, or unstable test results as signs to avoid steep slopes.

The avalanche danger is MODERATE.