Trip Planning for Lionhead Range

as of 5:00 am
Today3″ | 10-17 NE
Mar 5 0″ | 13-20 W
Mar 4 0″ | 10-25 N
9420′     03/06 at 23:00
9.7℉
N - 7mph
Gusts 18 mph
7750′     03/06 at 22:00
17℉
60″ Depth
Primary Problem: Wind Slab
Bottom Line: Wind slab avalanches will be the main hazard with winds from the E and NE increasing today. HEADS UP - Expect drifting in odd places because winds don’t typically blow from the east. Persistent slab avalanches 2-3 feet deep remain a threat on isolated slopes, and Storm slab avalanches in the new snow could become a problem this afternoon on all steep slopes if forecasted snow amounts of 8-12 inches pan out.

Past 5 Days

Sun Mar 2

Moderate
Mon Mar 3

Moderate
Tue Mar 4

Moderate
Wed Mar 5

Low
Today

Considerable

Relevant Avalanche Activity

Lionhead Range
Airplane Bowl
Snowmobile triggered slide in Airplane Bowl
Incident details include images
Airplane Bowl
HS-AMu-R2-D2-O
Elevation: 9,100
Aspect: SE
Coordinates: 44.7250, -111.3220
Caught: 0 ; Buried: 0

Also, on our way out we saw an avalanche in Airplane Bowl that had been triggered during the day today. This slide also broke on the persistent weak layers, 2-3' deep, 150' wide.


More Avalanche Details
Lionhead Range
Targhee Creek
Snowmobile triggered 3-5' deep hard slab at Lionhead
Incident details include images
Incident details contain video
Targhee Creek
HS-AMu-R4-D3-O
Elevation: 9,200
Aspect: N
Coordinates: 44.7413, -111.3740
Caught: 0 ; Buried: 0

A rider triggered a huge avalanche in the uppermost reaches of Targhee creek. We discovered it on our way out. The best we could tell looking at their tracks was that they had no idea they triggered it, even though part of their tracks were swept away. 

 


More Avalanche Details
Lionhead Range
Lionhead Ridge
Remotely Triggered Avalanche Lionhead
Incident details contain video
Lionhead Ridge
SS-AMr-R3-D2-O
Elevation: 8,600
Aspect: SE
Coordinates: 44.7145, -111.3180
Caught: 0 ; Buried: 0

As we approached our second pit site on the lip of Moto Hill (southeast aspect at 8600'), I stopped and looked back in time to see avalanche debris slamming into the trees on a connected slope below. We remotely triggered the avalanche from 150 feet away. It broke 200' wide and 1-3 feet deep. It ran an estimated 200' vertical feet (based on a slope map. We couldn't safely access the toe of the debris). The avalanche failed on a layer of Fist hard facets. This is interesting because it is these mid-elevation slopes in the LH area that seemed really weak on previous visits to the area. The slope may have some wind-loading, but it was minimal and not the cause of this avalanche. 

We dug a pit on an east aspect around the corner and down from Airplane Bowl (before the avalanche) and found a similar snowpack setup. 150 cm of total snow and half was composed of weak facets. ECTP22 and P24 on the mid-pack January layer of Fist hard facets and surface hoar

Take Homes: 

  1. Lionhead seems to be the epicenter of persistent slab instability. It is the weakest I have seen. Southern Madison and Southern Gallatin seem to be similar and I would group them together when describing conditions. 
  2. Mid-elevation slopes are thin and weak and can clearly avalanche. This is problematic because many folks play in lower elevation terrain when conditions are dangerous... While small compared to the upper bowl, the avalanche we triggered would have been deadly. It was deep and it would have strained its victim through trees. 
  3. We heard about a similar remote-triggered avalanche in Black Canyon today. This has me nervous that I missed something in the Centennials. While we didn't see anything too concerning there yesterday outside of wind-loaded slope, I am not happy about two remotely triggered slides less than 20 mile away. 

More Avalanche Details

Relevant Photos

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Videos- Lionhead Range

WebCams


Rendezvous Ski Trail, W. Yellowstone

Snowpit Profiles- Lionhead Range

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Weather Forecast Lionhead Range

Extended Forecast for

10 Miles WNW West Yellowstone MT

  • Tonight

    Tonight: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 12. Wind chill values as low as -5. Blustery, with a north wind 16 to 22 mph, with gusts as high as 26 mph.

    Low: 12 °F

    Mostly Cloudy
    and Blustery

  • Friday

    Friday: Sunny, with a high near 26. Wind chill values as low as -5. North wind 10 to 14 mph.

    High: 26 °F

    Sunny

  • Friday Night

    Friday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 12. North northwest wind around 9 mph becoming west after midnight.

    Low: 12 °F

    Mostly Clear

  • Saturday

    Saturday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 28. Southwest wind 8 to 13 mph, with gusts as high as 18 mph.

    High: 28 °F

    Mostly Sunny

  • Saturday Night

    Saturday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 16. South southwest wind 13 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 21 mph.

    Low: 16 °F

    Mostly Cloudy

  • Sunday

    Sunday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 30. South southwest wind 13 to 18 mph, with gusts as high as 26 mph.

    High: 30 °F

    Mostly Sunny

  • Sunday Night

    Sunday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 18. South wind 15 to 18 mph, with gusts as high as 26 mph.

    Low: 18 °F

    Partly Cloudy

  • Monday

    Monday: Partly sunny, with a high near 31. South wind 14 to 21 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph.

    High: 31 °F

    Partly Sunny

  • Monday Night

    Monday Night: A slight chance of snow after 11pm.  Mostly cloudy, with a low around 21.

    Low: 21 °F

    Slight Chance
    Snow

The Last Word

03 / 5 / 25  <<  
 
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