23-24

<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>The avalanche warning continues for the mountains around West Yellowstone and Island Park. Another 6” of snow yesterday with continued snowfall today combined with the 2-3 ft of snow that fell over the last week make both natural and human triggered avalanches likely. We’ve been warning you about the remarkably weak snow lower in the snowpack all season and it is now being put through its biggest test yet. It’s not handling it well. On Wednesday, snowmobilers in Tepee Basin triggered an avalanche from a distance that broke 4 feet deep and a mile wide (</span></span></span></span></span></span><a href="https://www.mtavalanche.com/node/30547"><span><span><span><strong><span… and video</span></span></u></span></strong></span></span></span></a><span><span><span><span><span><span>). This is a huge avalanche, the biggest we’ve seen all season. Carefully ponder what it would mean to trigger a similar slide before even approaching the runout zone beneath a steep slope today.&nbsp;</span></span></span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>Riding in Island Park yesterday, we saw no signs of instability such as cracking or collapsing, before we came upon a recent rider triggered slide (</span></span></span></span></span></span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPaaF7W2Mf8&amp;list=PLXu5151nmAvSH326z…;). As the weak layers get buried deeper, they will give less warning signs before avalanching. Don’t let this trick you. Don’t look for signs of instability to tell you to avoid steep slopes today - just make a plan to avoid riding on, or beneath, slopes steeper than 30 degrees and stick to that plan religiously. .</span></span></span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>The avalanche danger is HIGH.</span></span></span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>Another 1-2” of new snow around Bozeman, 4” in Cooke City and 2-6” around Big Sky are keeping avalanche conditions dangerous. With less recent snow, conditions aren’t quite as touchy as further south, but don’t take this as any sort of glowing endorsement of the stability, human triggered avalanches are still likely today. The snowpack has been incrementally loaded over the last week, keeping it teetering on the edge. Don’t be the thing that tips it over that edge. A natural avalanche and many collapses near Cooke City (</span></span></span></span></span></span><a href="https://www.mtavalanche.com/node/30553"><span><span><span><strong><span… and photo</span></span></u></span></strong></span></span></span></a><span><span><span><span><span><span>, </span></span></span></span></span></span><a href="https://www.mtavalanche.com/node/30546"><span><span><span><strong><span…;) on Wednesday are clear signs the snowpack remains unstable. Natural avalanches earlier this week in </span></span></span></span></span></span><a href="https://www.mtavalanche.com/node/30495"><span><span><span><strong><span… Basin</span></span></u></span></strong></span></span></span></a><span><span><span><span><span><span>, the </span></span></span></span></span></span><a href="https://www.mtavalanche.com/node/30517"><span><span><span><strong><span… Range</span></span></u></span></strong></span></span></span></a><span><span><span><span><span><span>, and east of </span></span></span></span></span></span><a href="https://www.mtavalanche.com/node/30537"><span><span><span><strong><span… City</span></span></u></span></strong></span></span></span></a><span><span><span><span><span><span> are good examples of the sorts of slides you could trigger today.</span></span></span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>Cautious route finding and conservative decision making are essential for a safe day in the backcountry today. Avoiding slopes steeper than 30 degrees is the best way to avoid triggering and being caught by a dangerous slide. Also be cautious passing beneath these slopes as you can trigger a slide from below.</span></span></span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>The avalanche danger is CONSIDERABLE.</span></span></span></span></span></span></p>