10-11

Wind slabs are still forming in upper elevation terrain.  The slide in the middle of the chute was triggered by another slide higher up.  These slides took place on Mt Blackmore.  Photo Tyler Reinking

This avalanche likely occured in the last 48 hours.  It's a steep, wind-loaded northeast facing slope on the edge of Sunlight Basin in the southern Madison Range.  This was the only avalanche spotted the entire day. Photo: GNFAC

Fortunately this was a relatively small avalanche with a good runnout.  This slope had seen lots of traffic before this avalanche which serves as a good reminder that tracks do not idicate stability, and we can never let down our guard.  Photo: F. Coty

This avalanche on Crown Butte north of Cooke City was triggered by a snowmobiler who was able to ride off the slab as it broke.  This rocky slope has a NW  aspect but is frequently scoured by W winds, thus keeping the snowpack generally thinner and weaker than other slopes nearby.  Photo: F. Coty

This avalanche occured during heavy snowfall on Tuesday.  It was triggered when a skier stepped off the ridge, and broke almost 4 feet deep.  This snowpack on this slope was shallow and had either previously avalanched or been scoured by winds.  Either way, shallow snow is often weak snow.  This slide broke on a thick layer of obvious facets about 2 feet above the ground.  See snowpit profile at http://www.mtavalanche.com/images/11/north-bridger-bowl-0 Photo: GNFAC

While this slide did not break over a wide area, it broke deep.  Fortunately no one was caught. Photo: GNFAC