18-19

<p>The mountains got 10-20” of new snow since Wednesday. Combine that with strong wind today and avalanches are a real possibility this weekend. You will most likely find unstable snow in two types of terrain. The first is on wind-loaded slopes, where wind has drifted new snow into thicker, fresh slabs. These wind slabs are common near ridgelines or on convex (roll-shaped) terrain, such as the top of rollovers and along the edge of gullies. The second place to expect unstable snow is where new snow fell onto layers of old snow from early October. Whether the old snow is sugary and weak, or a firm, refrozen crust it will be a layer that new snow might not stick to on steep slopes. Layers of old snow are mostly confined to higher elevation and shady (northerly) aspects.</p>

<p>Steep slopes where wind slabs are freshly drifted onto old snow are the perfect place to trigger an avalanche, and therefore the slopes to avoid this weekend. Stick to lower angle terrain, or carefully assess the stability of the new snow-old snow interface before riding steep slopes. Steep slopes that are not wind-loaded and don’t have old snow might&nbsp;have thin cover. Resist the&nbsp;temptation&nbsp;to venture onto deeper and&nbsp;steeper, unstable slopes.</p>

<p>Avalanches have caught and injured skiers, hunters, and climbers during the early-season before. (Read <a href="http://www.mtavalanche.com/accident/12/10/31"><strong>this accident report</strong></a> from October 2012 in the northern Bridger Range, and <strong><a href="https://www.mtavalanche.com/accident/17/10/12">this report</a></strong> from the tragic accident last October on Imp Peak.)&nbsp;Travel and prepare for avalanches as you would in the middle of winter:</p>

<ul>
<li>Equip yourself with all the tools: beacon, shovel and probe at a minimum.</li>
<li>Travel one at a time in avalanche terrain.</li>
<li>Small avalanches can be season-ending affairs at best and deadly at their worst. Be careful of getting swept into rocks or buried deeply in gullies or carried off cliffs. All of these have occurred early season in Montana.</li>
<li>The snowpack is usually the most unstable during and immediately after new snow and wind. Cracking and collapsing of the snow is bulls-eye information that the snow is unstable.</li>
<li>Plan to attend one of our avalanche education courses listed <a href="https://www.mtavalanche.com/workshops/calendar"><strong>HERE</strong></…;
</ul>

<p>We are preparing for winter, scheduling avalanche classes, and setting up weather stations. If you get outside send us an observation via our website, email (<a href="mailto:mtavalanche@gmail.com">mtavalanche@gmail.com</a&gt;), phone (406-587-6984), or Instagram (#gnfacobs).</p>