24-25

Weakening Snow and Future Problems

Date
Activity
Skiing

Today, we toured south of Cooke City, up Republic Creek and Republic Mountain. We spotted widespread, weakening snow surfaces: surface hoar feathers at lower elevations, faceted snow on cold, shady slopes up high, and faceted snow beneath crusts on solar aspects. Our pit on an E aspect at 9460' did not produce unstable test results, but showed the top 1.5' of snow to have faceted and weakened during this bout of high pressure. These layers are not concerning now, but will certainly be top of mind when the next storm system arrives over the weekend. 

We spotted several loose wet avalanches that occurred yesterday in steep, rocky terrain up Sheep Creek. We also noted an old, deep persistent slab avalanche on a NW' aspect near the south end of the Republic Creek drainage. This likely broke around a week ago. 

Skies were clear, winds were calm, and temperatures were warm in the sun and chilly everywhere else. 

Region
Cooke City
Location (from list)
Republic Mountain
Observer Name
H. Darby

Taylor Fork - surface hoar

Date
Activity
Snowmobiling
Region
Northern Madison
Location (from list)
Skyline Ridge
Observer Name
Matt R

GNFAC Avalanche Forecast for Thu Jan 30, 2025

Snowpack and Avalanche Discussion

<p><span><span><span><strong><span><span>Wet loose avalanches</span></span></strong></span></span></span><span><span><span><span><span><span>: Watch out for point releases of wet snow on the surface of the snowpack as things heat up on sunny slopes, especially on slopes with exposed rocks. There was a good refreeze last night, and sunny slopes have been through a few melt freeze cycles which will limit this avalanche activity today..</span></span></span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span><span><span><strong><span><span>Old wind slabs:</span></span></strong></span></span></span><span><span><span><span><span><span> Isolated locations may have a few old wind slabs resting on facets that formed during cold weather over MLK weekend. Time and warm temperatures have helped many of these wind slabs stabilize, but I’d consider this problem if getting into extreme terrain where a very small slide can have severe consequences (like riding above cliffs).&nbsp;</span></span></span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>We’re keeping tabs on the snow surface as we prepare to move into a prolonged stormy period. </span></span></span></span></span></span><a href="https://youtu.be/SqfcVtQ4uxY?feature=shared"><span><span><span><span><s… explains it well in this video</span></span></u></span></span></span></span></span></a><span><span><span><span><span><span>. Typically the snow surface weakens and facets during clear cold nights and warm sunny days, but especially warm weather has helped limit this process.&nbsp;&nbsp;</span></span></span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>Today avalanche conditions are generally safe and the avalanche danger is LOW.</span></span></span></span></span></span></p>

<p><em><span><span><span><strong><span><span>HEADS UP</span></span></strong></span></span></span></em><span><span><span><span><span><span> - It has generally been open season with people riding many steep slopes under stable conditions. Moving into a prolonged snowy/windy period, consider changing your mindset to “</span></span></span></span></span></span><a href="https://avalanche.org/avalanche-encyclopedia/human/decision-making/stra… Back</span></span></u></span></span></span></span></span></a><span><span><span><span><span><span>” for the short term. A small weather change requires a small step back. A big weather change requires a big step back.</span></span></span></span></span></span></p>

KING AND QUEEN OF THE RIDGE

Join us for the King & Queen of the Ridge this Saturday at Bridger Bowl! Hike, ride and help us raise money. It’s a blast! Fundraising prizes for the top 5 individuals who raise over $500. No racing is necessary to compete for the fundraising prizes.

Mixed Bag of Surface Conditions in Beehive

Date
Activity
Skiing

We toured Beehive Basin up to the prayer flags and dropped into Bear Basin. We dug one full pit in the starting zone of Tyler's (1m of snow, ECTP28 on basal facets - rough/non-planar fracture) but were primarily looking at surface conditions. 

The surface evolved throughout the day, so we must continue tracking its progression. We found surface hoar in the valley of Beehive, where inverted temperatures were the coldest, crusts with near-surface facets below, and some straight near-surface facet—recycled powder, along with thicker crust and wet snow. 

The warmer temperatures at higher elevations that came with the inversion are saving us from worse faceting. When we returned to the vehicle, the surface hoar had burned off in the warming temperatures, and others were moist. 

Surface conditions will continue to evolve but probably won't get stronger in the coming days. The good news is that the surface is holding up better than I expected. 

Region
Northern Madison
Location (from list)
Beehive Basin
Observer Name
Dave Zinn

Wide spread layer of SH Two Top

Date
Activity
Snowmobiling

Wide spread layer of Surface Hoar mid and upper elevations Two Top area

Region
Island Park
Location (from list)
Two Top
Observer Name
Kevin Allred
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