21-22

<p>Strong west-southwest wind will drift snow from the past week into fresh slabs that skiers or riders could trigger. A person could also trigger avalanches of older drifts that formed over the past week. These wind slabs could range from 6 inches to 4 feet in depth. Avalanches are possible similar to those recently triggered by skiers and riders, such as a skier triggered slide at Bridger on Thursday (<a href="https://www.mtavalanche.com/node/25164"><strong>photos and details</strong></a>), a snowmobile triggered slide in the Taylor Fork (<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPHZEgnv4lM"><strong>video</strong></a&…;), and a skier triggered avalanche at Bacon Rind on Wednesday (<a href="https://mtavalanche.com/images/21/avalanche-bacon-rind-photo-15-dec-202…;). Be extra cautious of wind-loaded slopes, especially in terrain where the consequences being caught in a slide are high, like where you would be pushed into trees, over cliffs, dragged through rocks, or buried deeply in a confined gully.</p>

<p>Additionally, if you plan to ski or ride steep slopes dig to look for and evaluate the stability of buried weak layers. We have seen minimal evidence to indicate widespread buried weak layers exist, but with each load of new snow or fresh wind slabs we could see avalanches break deeper in the snowpack. Stay on the lookout for unstable buried weak layers, especially on slopes that held snow from October and early November.</p>

<p>Today, avalanches are possible to trigger and the avalanche danger is MODERATE.</p>

<p>Near Cooke City, strong west-southwest wind will drift snow into fresh wind slabs that skiers or riders could trigger. Older wind slabs 1-3 feet thick that formed over the past week are also possible to trigger, similar to a slab that snowmobilers triggered on Wednesday near Goose lake (<a href="https://www.mtavalanche.com/node/25168"><strong>details</strong></a&gt;). On non-wind loaded slopes avalanches are unlikely. If you plan to ski or ride steep slopes dig to look for potential unstable buried weak layers, and carefully assess the stability of wind-drifted snow.</p>

<p>The avalanche danger is MODERATE on wind-loaded slopes and LOW on all other slopes.</p>

<p>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>The primary avalanche concern today is triggering a slide in a wind drift of recent snow. With multiple rounds of strong winds and snowfall over the last week, avalanches could break anywhere from 6 inches to 4 ft deep and may even break on slopes that haven’t been wind-loaded.&nbsp;</p>

<p>This week, skiers and snowmobilers have triggered avalanches across the advisory area from the Bridger Range (<a href="https://www.mtavalanche.com/node/25164"><strong><u>photos and details</u></strong></a>) down to near West Yellowstone (<a href="https://mtavalanche.com/images/21/avalanche-bacon-rind-photo-15-dec-202… Rind photo</u></strong></a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPHZEgnv4lM"><strong><u>Taylor Fork video</u></strong></a>). Now that snowfall has ended, triggering slides has become somewhat less likely, but remains a possibility.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Yesterday, Alex was at Two Top south of West Yellowstone (while outside of the advisory area it is near Lionhead and has a similar snowpack). He found a snowpack that appeared to have handled the 3 ft of new snow well, but was still cautious of deeper drifts (<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=meRoJb4vCPk"><strong><u>video</u></stro…;

<p>You are less likely to see obvious signs of instability today, so if you’re planning on riding steeper slopes, dig to evaluate how well the new snow has bonded to the old and also look for deeper weak layers.</p>

<p>Skiers or riders triggering avalanches is possible today and the avalanche danger is MODERATE.</p>

<p>Near Cooke City, you could trigger an avalanche 1-3 ft deep in wind-drifted snow from the last week. On Wednesday, snowmobilers triggered a 75-100 ft wide slab near Goose lake (<a href="https://www.mtavalanche.com/node/25168"><strong><u>details</u></strong>…;). Watch out for wind-loaded slopes and either avoid them or dig to make sure that the drifts are well bonded. Avalanches are unlikely on non-windloaded slopes.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>

<p>The avalanche danger is MODERATE on wind-loaded slopes and LOW on all others.</p>

<p>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>