From IG Stories: A group on the "Rip Curl" area of Woody Ridge south of Cooke City report ECTP1 test results failing on buried weak layers.
Felt 2x collapsing or wompfing of the snow in the Two Top area, observed wind scoured terrain with wind slab deposits on the N, NE, E, and SE slopes. Storm Slab of 6-8" over melt freeze cust. Shooting cracks in front of skis. Light snowfall during the day, overcast skies, and light winds.
Divide Pk 9600ft SE facing snowpit on 27 Dec 2024 with ECTP27 and ECTP23 at 22" deep
Divide Pk 9560ft E facing snowpit, ECTP30 about 24" deep on 27 Dec 2024
A member of the Bridger Bowl Ski Patrol reported a relatively small, natural avalanche between the North and South Saddle Peak (in an area appropriately referred to as "Between the Peaks").
Toured to Upper Hyalite Canyon to Divide Peak and we were pleasantly surprised. The layer of weak facets buried almost 2' deep up there has gained some hardness (4 fingers hardness instead of Fist hardness). It produced more promising test scores than we've been seeing in other places.
We did not experience any cracking or collapsing. There had been strong winds three days ago, but it didn't seem like winds have moved much snow since then and there was lots of great powder skiing.
This is just one observation but it is perhaps a hint that this layer could heal in the reasonable future. Continuing to bury this layer with light snowfall would do it.
For now, we're cautiously optimistic that we found one place with decent-ish looking snow. Hyalite and the entire Northern Gallatin Range is a large place with a lot of variability and likely many places with plenty of weak snow that warrants digging and assessing the weak layer.
