21-22

<p>A cold spring storm this past week brought a return to wintery riding conditions and the attendant avalanche concerns. This weekend won’t be as bitterly cold, but with cloudy skies and temperatures generally remaining below freezing, dry snow avalanches will remain the primary concern.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The issue you’re most likely to encounter are avalanches breaking in the new and wind drifted snow. As the storm rolled in on Monday, a skier in the Bridger Range triggered a small slab in the new snow on a small slope (<a href="https://www.mtavalanche.com/images/22/small-wind-slab-bridger-bowl"><st…;). With substantial storm totals since then, larger and more dangerous slides are now possible. Watch for stiff, punchy feeling slabs and cracks shooting out in front of you as signs that you’ve found a slope where you could trigger a slab avalanche. Winds have blown from almost every direction over the past few days, so keep an eye out for wind loading in unusual areas. If you don’t see obvious signs of instability, dig down to check the interface between the new and old snow (and on cold, shady slopes dig a bit deeper to look for persistent weak layers that may still lurk another 1-3 ft deeper).&nbsp;</p>

<p>A quick break in the clouds or temperatures rising a bit higher than expected would add wet loose sloughs to our list of concerns. The mid-April sun is intense, it’ll only take a few minutes of direct sunshine to dampen and destabilize the snow surface. If the new snow is getting warm and feeling sticky, be on alert because you could trigger a loose wet slide.</p>

<p>Continue to follow safe travel protocols by skiing and riding with a partner, carrying a beacon, shovel and probe and exposing only one person at a time to avalanche terrain.&nbsp;</p>

<p><strong>A Note on Bridger Bowl:</strong> Without the daily avalanche mitigation efforts of the ski patrol, backcountry conditions now exist within the boundaries of Bridger Bowl (<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcTGZm8vnZA"><strong><u>video</u></stro…;). Commonly traveled routes such the North Bowl Road and any slope steeper than 30 degrees are avalanche terrain (i.e. most of the Ridge and Schlasman’s terrain). Other groups above and below you may complicate principles of safe travel.&nbsp;</p>

<p>We will issue spring snowpack and weather updates each Monday and Friday through April, or as needed, and we will share relevant avalanche and snowpack information on our website and social media. If you get out, please send us your observations no matter how brief. You can submit them via our <a href="https://www.mtavalanche.com/node/add/snow_observation"><strong><u>websi…;, email (<a href="mailto:mtavalanche@gmail.com"><strong><u>mtavalanche@gmail.com</u></str…;), phone (406-587-6984), or Instagram (#gnfacobs).</p>

<p>In the mountains around Bozeman, Big Sky, West Yellowstone and Cooke City, large avalanches are currently unlikely because a thick melt-freeze crust below several inches of recent snow is generally isolating skiers and riders from deeper instabilities. However, avalanche conditions can and will change rapidly when this week’s storm arrives.</p>

<p>New snow and wind-drifted snow will become the primary concerns. Avalanches will fail above the crust as loose snow “sluffs”, dangerous in technical terrain, or slab avalanches that involve a greater volume of snow that could bury a skier or rider. The wind will transport snow during and after the storm loading slopes and creating cohesive slabs of drifted snow that can break across wide areas.</p>

<p>This week, test the snowpack down to the icy melt-freeze crust below the new snow. If you don’t find a crust, test the upper 3’ of the snowpack for isolated areas with persistent weak layers buried 1-3’ deep. Choose more conservative terrain if you observe signs of instability such as recent avalanche activity, cracking, collapsing or get unstable test results.</p>

<p>Continue to follow safe travel protocols by skiing and riding with a partner, carrying a beacon, probe and shovel and exposing only one person at a time to avalanche terrain. Be prepared to make more conservative decisions in the face of increasing avalanche danger as snow accumulates through the week.</p>

<p>Wet snow avalanches are not likely based on the week’s forecast. However, conditions change quickly in the spring and an hour or two of sunny skies and above freezing temperatures will make wet snow avalanches possible.</p>

<p><strong>A Note on Bridger Bowl:</strong> Backcountry conditions will quickly take over within the boundaries of Bridger Bowl without the daily avalanche mitigation efforts of the ski patrol (<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcTGZm8vnZA"><strong>video</strong></a&…;). Commonly traveled routes such the North Bowl Road and any slope steeper than 30 degrees are avalanche terrain including most of the Ridge and Slushmans terrain). Other groups moving around in the area complicate principles of safe travel. With no ski patrol services, call 911 in case of emergency.</p>

<p>We will issue spring snowpack and weather updates each Monday and Friday through April, or as needed, and we will share relevant avalanche and snowpack information on our website and social media. If you get out, please send us your observations no matter how brief. You can submit them via our <a href="https://www.mtavalanche.com/node/add/snow_observation"><strong>website<…;, email (<a href="mailto:mtavalanche@gmail.com"><strong>mtavalanche@gmail.com</strong></a…;), phone (406-587-6984), or Instagram (#gnfacobs).</p>

<p>Large avalanches are unlikely today. However, the possibility of triggering a slide can’t be totally ruled out, especially on high elevation shady slopes with wind drifted snow from the past week. On these slopes where the snowpack has remained dry, watch for slabs of drifted snow that formed earlier in the week (<a href="https://www.mtavalanche.com/images/22/scotch-bonnet-avalanche"><strong>…;, <a href="https://www.mtavalanche.com/images/22/wolverine-avalanche"><strong><u>p…;, <a href="https://www.mtavalanche.com/images/22/cornice-triggered-avalanche-beehi…;) and dig down to look for weak snow buried 1-3 feet deep. Even a small avalanche can have nasty consequences, so if you do find a cracking drift or get an unstable test result, just find a different slope to ride. There are plenty of slopes to ride that don’t harbor any instabilities.</p>

<p>Cold temperatures have refrozen the snowpack and made wet avalanches unlikely. With below freezing temperatures even direct sunshine won’t warm the surface enough to make wet snow an issue today.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Keep using safe travel protocols in case you do find an isolated pocket of instability. Always carry rescue gear (avalanche beacon, shovel, and probe). Go one at a time on steep slopes. And watch your partners from a safe spot.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Avalanches are unlikely today and the&nbsp; avalanche danger is LOW.</p>

<p>While this is our last forecast of the season, avalanches will remain possible until all the snow melts. We will issue spring snowpack and weather updates each Monday and Friday through April, and as needed, and we will share relevant avalanche and snowpack observations on our website and social media. Please continue sending us your observations. You can submit them via our website, email (mtavalanche@gmail.com), phone (406-587-6984), or Instagram (#gnfacobs).</p>