Trip Planning for Lionhead Range

as of 5:00 am
Today0″ | 4-19 W
Apr 5 1″ | 10-20 N
Apr 4 0″ | 5-20 N
9420′     04/06 at 17:00
38.2℉
W - 9mph
Gusts 18 mph
7750′     04/06 at 16:00
47℉
68″ Depth
Primary Problem: Loose Wet
Bottom Line: Today the two main avalanche problems you might encounter are wind slab avalanches and wet loose avalanches. Yesterday wind slabs were notably more reactive than expected, despite having had some time to stabilize since snowfall tapered off a couple days ago. Don’t trust old drifts today, and expect any fresh drifts to be easy to trigger. Expect the snow surface to get weaker through the day, especially on slopes that receive direct sunshine. Moist sticky snow or roller-balls on the surface mean it is time to find lower angle terrain or slopes with colder, dry snow on the surface. The sunshine and heat will also make cornice falls possible. Minimize your time on slopes below cornices and stay far back from the edge while travelling on ridgelines above them.

Past 5 Days

Wed Apr 2

Moderate
Thu Apr 3

Low
Fri Apr 4

Moderate
Sat Apr 5

Moderate
Today

Moderate

Relevant Avalanche Activity

Lionhead Range
LIONHEAD AREA
Many Wind Slab Avalanches at Lionhead
Incident details include images
Incident details contain video
LIONHEAD AREA
N-R2-D2-I
Elevation: 9,400
Aspect: E
Coordinates: 44.7292, -111.3230
Caught: 0 ; Buried: 0

We saw many R1-R2 wind slab avalanches below the Lionhead Ridge cornice line. Visibility was limited so I won't estimate the exact number, but nearly every time we had good views of the steep faces, we saw cornice collapses, debris, or small crown lines. There were two slides on east aspects that ran closer to full path and piled debris more deeply. I expect that most of these had run within the last 24 hours, but continuing snowfall and hurricane force winds made precisely dating these a challenge (many trees were blown down during the wind event, these too were already somewhat buried). None of the avalanches broke on persistent weak layers as far as I could tell. 


More Avalanche Details

Relevant Photos

Displaying 1 - 40

Videos- Lionhead Range

WebCams


Rendezvous Ski Trail, W. Yellowstone

Snowpit Profiles- Lionhead Range

Select a snowpit on the map to view the profile image

Weather Forecast Lionhead Range

Extended Forecast for

10 Miles WNW West Yellowstone MT

  • Tonight

    Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around 24. Southwest wind 8 to 10 mph.

    Low: 24 °F

    Mostly Clear

  • Monday

    Monday: Increasing clouds, with a high near 40. South southwest wind 10 to 20 mph, with gusts as high as 29 mph.

    High: 40 °F

    Increasing
    Clouds

  • Monday Night

    Monday Night: Snow, mainly after midnight.  Low around 30. South southwest wind 16 to 21 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph.  Chance of precipitation is 80%. New snow accumulation of 1 to 2 inches possible.

    Low: 30 °F

    Chance Snow
    then Snow

  • Tuesday

    Tuesday: Snow before noon, then snow showers after noon. Some thunder is also possible.  High near 33. South southwest wind 14 to 20 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph.  Chance of precipitation is 90%. New snow accumulation of 1 to 3 inches possible.

    High: 33 °F

    Snow

  • Tuesday Night

    Tuesday Night: Snow likely, mainly before midnight.  Mostly cloudy, with a low around 21. Southwest wind 10 to 20 mph, with gusts as high as 28 mph.  Chance of precipitation is 70%. New snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible.

    Low: 21 °F

    Snow Likely
    then Slight
    Chance Snow

  • Wednesday

    Wednesday: A 30 percent chance of snow.  Partly sunny, with a high near 36. Southwest wind 10 to 20 mph, with gusts as high as 31 mph.  Little or no snow accumulation expected.

    High: 36 °F

    Chance Snow

  • Wednesday Night

    Wednesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 29. West wind 15 to 20 mph decreasing to 8 to 13 mph after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 29 mph.

    Low: 29 °F

    Mostly Clear

  • Thursday

    Thursday: Sunny, with a high near 44. South wind 8 to 13 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.

    High: 44 °F

    Sunny

  • Thursday Night

    Thursday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 32.

    Low: 32 °F

    Partly Cloudy

The Last Word

Hyalite Road Closure 

The Hyalite Canyon Road is closed to ALL MOTORIZED VEHICLES until the morning of May 16. This is a regular annual road closure to reduce road damage during the spring thaw. Bicycle and foot traffic are allowed. Contact the Bozeman FS Ranger District for more info.

04 / 5 / 25  <<  
 
this forecast
 
  >>  This is the most recent forecast.