21-22
Buried surface hoar in the southern Absaroka Mountains (YNP)
Date
Activity
Skiing
Touchy surface hoar layer buried under slabs on top of old surface facts in wind protected north and east facing aspects. The layer was observed between 8400 and 9400 feet in the southern Absaroka Range, in Yellowstone National Park. Intentionally skier triggered D1 and D2 slabs 10-30cm thick.
Region
Out of Advisory Area
Observer Name
Shane Rathbun
Wind loading
Date
Activity
Snowboarding
I toured up to Divide today
the wind was still cooking and loading the east facing slopes
i did 3x stability tests (quick pits using my snow saw) as I gained the ridge towards the peak
each pit receiving poor test scores, failed and propagated just below the new snow from this week
i stuck to the sheltered lower angle trees
I would not have trusted any wind loaded/loading slopes today
on the way to the “pillow factory” I kicked off a very small harmless slide (photo attached)
this slide was on the same aspect and slope angle as the very small slide I kicked off yesterday (report submitted) just in a slightly different location
Region
Northern Gallatin
Location (from list)
Divide Cirque
Wind Slabs Behind The Throne
Date
Activity
Skiing
The Throne is wind scoured down to dirt in many places on the east face, making that face completely unskiable. We toured up to behind and above the throne (west of it) in hopes of finding better snow on the northeast aspect. Snow was extremely variable touring up, alternating between wind slab and wind scoured. Saw some shooting cracks on a wind slab at ~8500 feet on a 30 degree slope and quickly backed off.
We dug a pit at 8500 feet on the northeast aspect and got a ECT12 result that propagated all the way across on a layer of facets at about 140cm from the ground, below a thin (1cm) hard crust at ~145 cm from ground. Above that thin hard crust was ~15cm of fist soft snow and then a ~10cm wind crust on top of that.
Very funky/variable snow all the way down, mostly highly wind affected.
Region
Bridger Range
Location (from list)
The Throne
Observer Name
Tyler Honsinger
Stable test Island park
Date
Activity
Snowmobiling
location
44°30'31.0"N 111°33'29.0"WWSW aspect
7413'
depth 77cm
ECTX
PST 95/100 @15cm
Region
Island Park
Location (from list)
Centennials - Idaho
Observer Name
Jay Holweger
GNFAC Avalanche Forecast for Fri Feb 4, 2022
Snowpack and Avalanche Discussion
<p>Strong winds have blown the 10” of snow that fell Monday and Tuesday into drifts which cracked under skiers and riders yesterday. A snowboarder in Hyalite yesterday triggered a very small (6” deep) avalanche on a small slope (<a href="https://www.mtavalanche.com/images/22/very-small-wind-slab"><strong><u>…;). Drifting continued yesterday and strong winds will continue drifting snow today, creating fresh unstable drifts (<a href="https://www.mtavalanche.com/images/22/skin-track-filled-divide-peak"><s…;). Look for cracks shooting out in front of your skis or snowmobile as a sign that you’ve found unstable snow and should stay off steep slopes. The new snow fell onto a weak snow surface. Quickly dig 1-2ft deep to check for unstable weak layers in the upper snowpack. The avalanche danger is MODERATE on wind-loaded slopes. On non-windloaded, the new snow is not deep or cohesive enough for large avalanches and the danger is LOW.</p>
<p>In the mountains around West Yellowstone and Cooke City less snow fell earlier in the week (5-6”) and winds have been slightly lighter. Any wind-drifted slabs will generally be small and harmless outside of the steepest and most exposed terrain. Yesterday, Alex and I found stable conditions in Teepee Basin (<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDCtE01l--U"><strong><u>video</u></stro…;) and Doug found the same at Bacon Rind (<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOQk9OlNgNw"><strong><u>video</u></stro…;). An avalanche on Wednesday outside Cooke City that broke a foot deep in a steep gully, carrying a skier 600 ft and partially burying them with their head under the snow is a reminder to keep your guard up even during low danger (<a href="https://www.mtavalanche.com/node/25697"><strong><u>details and photo</u></strong></a>). If you find an isolated area with more than a few inches of drifted snow, carefully evaluate the snowpack before committing to steep terrain. Weak layers near the surface remain on our list of concerns for when it snows again. For today, the avalanche danger is rated LOW because large avalanches are unlikely (but not entirely impossible).</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>
THIS SATURDAY: KING AND QUEEN OF THE RIDGE
Do you like to hike? Do you like to ski? Then the King & Queen of the Ridge is for you. Hike, ski and raise money for the Friends of the Avalanche Center in their 2nd biggest fundraiser of the year. Join the effort to promote and support avalanche safety and awareness! Fundraising prizes for top 5 individuals who raise over $500. No racing is necessary to compete for the fundraising prizes. Info is HERE.