21-22

<p>Monday and Tuesday’s 10” of new snow is getting blown into drifts which will be widespread. At ridgelines wind is strong and gusty from the W-SW and even at lower elevations the wind is strong enough to move snow. The drifts are piling onto a weak surface (sugary/faceted) and I expect them to easily crack and possibly avalanche, with the potential to propagate wider than we might think. Weak layers are found in the upper 12-18” of the snowpack. Ian rode into Buck Ridge yesterday and determined that wind-loading would create instability, and last night it blew at all elevations. Wind drifts will be found at ridgelines and in gullies. Unintentionally triggering a wind pillow, even a small one, could injure and/or bury you. Today, avalanches are possible on wind-loaded slopes and the danger is rated MODERATE. On slopes untouched by the wind, the danger is rated LOW.</p>

<p>The mountains south of Big Sky to West Yellowstone and Cooke City received 5-6” of snow on Monday and Tuesday. Winds have been mostly light and wind drifting could be found in a few isolated areas. Two skiers outside Cooke City found one of these slopes and triggered a slide in a steep, technical gulley near Goose Lake (<a href="https://www.mtavalanche.com/node/25697"><strong><u>details and photo</u></strong></a>). One person was carried 600’ and partially buried with his head under the snow. His partner rescued him within a couple minutes and was thankfully uninjured. In general, avalanches are unlikely today. Although there is weak snow in the upper 12-18” of the snowpack, a few inches of snow earlier in the week was not enough to tip the scales toward widespread instability. On Tuesday <a href="https://youtu.be/6aMGx0KCKFU"><strong><u>I was in Cooke City</u></strong></a> happily skiing in a snowstorm (yeah!), yet also concerned about loading which did not happen because the snow stopped (waah!). For today, the avalanche danger is rated LOW. As yesterday’s skier triggered avalanche illustrates, a low danger does not mean slides are impossible, just improbable.&nbsp;</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>

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