21-22

<p>In the last two days, 6-10” of low-density snow equal to 0.3-0.7” of <a href="https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/null/?cid=nrcseprd1314… water equivalent</a> (SWE) fell onto a variety of weak layers within the top 18” of the snowpack in the Bridger, Madison and Gallatin Ranges. The new snow will not be enough to tip the scales toward widespread instability. Consider recent avalanche activity to understand the concerns for the day. On the less likely end of this spectrum was a shallow but wide avalanche of hard windblown snow on Saddle Peak that occurred on January 25th (<a href="https://mtavalanche.com/node/25629"><strong>details, photos and video</strong></a>) and on the more likely end was a windslab triggered near Big Sky by a cornice collapse on Friday (<a href="https://mtavalanche.com/node/25668"><strong>details and photo</strong></a>) and small loose snow avalanches south of Bridger Bowl last Thursday (<a href="https://mtavalanche.com/node/25644"><strong>details and photo</strong></a>). Today, slab avalanches could be large enough to injure or bury a skier or rider and loose snow avalanches could result in an unpleasant tumble in technical terrain.</p>

<p>Dig down a couple of feet and perform a quick stability test to assess the upper levels of the snowpack before skiing and riding any steep slope (<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqn0KFZqXYs&amp;list=PLXu5151nmAvSpq8Ps… to test in less than 1-minute</strong></a>). If you don’t see signs of instability during your travel or in your stability test, stay warm and enjoy the new snow.</p>

<p>Today, human-triggered avalanches are possible and the danger is MODERATE.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The mountains around West Yellowstone and Cooke City picked up 4-5” of snow equal to 0.2-0.3” of SWE. This will soften the surface but will not significantly increase the avalanche danger. Yesterday in Cooke City, Doug noted that new snow was falling on weak facets at or near the surface and he would not be surprised if folks started triggering slides <em>if</em> the snow kept up (<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6aMGx0KCKFU"><strong>video</strong></a&…;). Well, fortunately for stability and unfortunately for riding and skiing conditions, the snow did <em>not</em> keep up. Dig a snowpit to assess the top couple of feet of the snowpack and watch for signs of isolated instability as you travel. Pull back if you find localized areas with weaker snow. The fundamentals don’t change with the avalanche danger rating. Carry and be familiar with avalanche rescue gear and expose only one person at a time to avalanche terrain.</p>

<p>Human-triggered avalanches are unlikely and the danger&nbsp;is LOW.&nbsp;</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>website<…;, email (<a href="mailto:mtavalanche@gmail.com"><strong>mtavalanche@gmail.com</strong></a…;), phone (406-587-6984), or Instagram (#gnfacobs).</p>