24-25

New snow over Melt Freeze Crust Layer

Date
Activity
Snowmobiling

Felt 2x collapsing or wompfing of the snow in the Two Top area, observed wind scoured terrain with wind slab deposits on the N, NE, E, and SE slopes.  Storm Slab of 6-8" over melt freeze cust. Shooting cracks in front of skis. Light snowfall during the day, overcast skies, and light winds.

Region
Island Park
Location (from list)
Two Top
Observer Name
Ride Rasmussen Style

Small Wind Slab Avalanche Saddle Peak

Saddle Peak
Bridger Range
Code
SS-N-R1-D1
Elevation
9050
Aspect
E
Latitude
45.79430
Longitude
-110.93600
Notes

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
1
Number caught
0
Number buried
0
Avalanche Type
Soft slab avalanche
Trigger
Natural trigger
R size
1
D size
1
Problem Type
Wind Slab
Vertical Fall
150ft
Slab Thickness units
centimeters
Single / Multiple / Red Flag
Single Avalanche
Advisory Year
24-25

Upper Hyalite Canyon

Date
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
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
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