21-22

<p>The snow that fell yesterday was a welcome relief; every little bit helps. Up to 7” fell (.7” of snow water equivalent), but a few places like the Lionhead area only got an inch. In all mountains the strong westerly wind is loading slopes at ridgelines and in gullies. Above 9,000 feet snow depth is <em>about</em> 24-30”. Below that it gets thinner. Recently, Dave has been on a low-elevation tour of thin snowpacks. On Saturday he and Alex skinned over dirt patches to get the <a href="https://www.mtavalanche.com/weather/stations/hyalite-weather-station"><… station</u></strong></a> up on Flanders Mountain in Hyalite (<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovtaZJ04WpE"><strong><u>video</u></stro…;). On Monday, in Beehive Basin, he left his skis in the car and took a hike instead. His <a href="https://youtu.be/ATjT4xOr57I"><strong><u>video</u></strong></a&gt; shows low elevation grimness. And yesterday, he hopped on a sled at Lionhead to teach an avalanche class on 8-10” of snow.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The higher you climb the more snow there is. The difference between low and high elevations is stark, and so is the avalanche potential. On slopes that hold early season snow there is a layered snowpack. Some of these layers are getting weak as sugary, faceted snow develops. Wind-loaded slopes and gullies are cracking and avalanching. Alex and Ian are in Cooke City and rode up Fisher Creek and ski toured higher (<a href="https://youtu.be/O29XGDZBL8c"><strong><u>video</u></strong></a&gt;). They had 2-3 feet of snow, a couple weak layers in their pit and noticed wind slabs were cracking (<a href="https://www.mtavalanche.com/images/21/cracking-drift-near-cooke-city"><…;) and avalanching (<a href="https://www.mtavalanche.com/images/21/small-wind-slab-and-cornice-fall-…;). Expect to find similar conditions across the forecast area.&nbsp;</p>

<p>On Sunday, ice climbers in Hyalite triggered a wind slab in a gully (<a href="https://www.mtavalanche.com/node/25065"><strong><u>photos and report</u></strong></a>). Since then, new snow and very strong wind has increased the chances of triggering an avalanche, especially in gullies or near ridges. Retreat as soon as you see cracks shooting out in front of you and be extra careful around smooth wind pillows. Small avalanches are indicative that more, possibly bigger ones are possible. Ice climbers are susceptible to being swept away by small avalanches. If you see a slide in a gulley you should assume there are more, untriggered drifts above you.</p>

<p>Ian will update this bulletin on Friday morning. If you have avalanche, snowpack or weather observations to share please submit them via our&nbsp;<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>

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