The southern Madison and southern Gallatin Ranges, the Lionhead area near West Yellowstone, the mountains around Cooke City, and the Washburn Range:
The southern mountains continue to get snow. Carrot Basin in the southern Madison Range got another 4 inches, while the mountains around West Yellowstone and Cooke City got 6-8 inches. A lot of weight has been added to the snowpack in the last 3 days with storm totals in the 2-3 foot range. Strong westerly winds are only making matters worse. A thin layer of faceted snow 2-3 feet from the surface will be fracturing with this new load, especially on slopes with wind drifts. If the visibility gets good, I expect you’ll see natural avalanche activity on steep slopes. Given the new snow, wind and buried weak layer, I recommend staying out of avalanche terrain today including being extra cautious near runout zones. For today, the avalanche danger is rated HIGH on all slopes steeper than 35 degrees. Less steep slopes will have a CONSIDERABLE danger.
The southern mountains continue to get snow. Carrot Basin in the southern Madison Range got another 4 inches, while the mountains around West Yellowstone and Cooke City got 6-8 inches. A lot of weight has been added to the snowpack in the last 3 days with storm totals in the 2-3 foot range. Strong westerly winds are only making matters worse. A thin layer of faceted snow 2-3 feet from the surface will be fracturing with this new load, especially on slopes with wind drifts. If the visibility gets good, I expect you’ll see natural avalanche activity on steep slopes. Given the new snow, wind and buried weak layer, I recommend staying out of avalanche terrain today including being extra cautious near runout zones. For today, the avalanche danger is rated HIGH on all slopes steeper than 35 degrees. Less steep slopes will have a CONSIDERABLE danger.
