Strong west winds were forming dense wind slabs along the ridgelines. Most of these slabs would not be big enough to bury a person, but they could easily give someone an unpleasant ride. Photo GNFAC
High winds on Saddle Peak were loading slopes rapidly.
Photo GNFAC
The Bridger, Madison and Gallatin Ranges, the Lionhead area near West Yellowstone, the mountains around Cooke City and the Washburn Range:
Today’s ridgetop winds combined with plentiful soft snow will form fresh wind slabs which will be the main avalanche problem. A related problem is the growth of cornices. It’s hard to know when they have reached their breaking point, but when they do, falling cornices make good triggers for avalanches.
1-1.5 feet of new snow over the past 7 days - no recent avalanche activity - that's good. Photo GNFAC
The Bridger, Madison and Gallatin Ranges, the Lionhead area near West Yellowstone, the mountains around Cooke City and the Washburn Range:
Avalanche conditions in the backcountry are pretty quiet at the moment. Is this because conditions are somewhat stable or is this because few people were out yesterday? Perhaps it is a little of both. Significant snow fell last weekend and early this week with moderate westerly winds. Since last Friday snowfall totals from SNOTEL sites are:
The Bridger, Madison and Gallatin Ranges, the Lionhead area near West Yellowstone, the mountains around Cooke City and the Washburn Range:
There are two basic types of instabilities/weak layers:
The Bridger, northern Madison and northern Gallatin Ranges:
