20-21

<p>The snowpack in the Bridger, Madison, Gallatin, and Lionhead Ranges consists of a widespread and persistent layer of weak, sugary facets capped by a thick slab of more cohesive snow. This is a dangerous setup with many recent avalanches and red flag indicators of an unstable snowpack. Some highlights from the last week include a very large, skier-triggered avalanche on Flanders Mountain on Saturday that Alex investigated yesterday (<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5s2HTV3dwXA"><strong>video</strong></a&…;), an avalanche in Cinnamon Creek that skiers triggered from across a meadow (<a href="https://www.mtavalanche.com/node/23650"><strong>photo</strong></a&gt;), and a 1000’ wide snowmobile-triggered avalanche near Buck Ridge (<strong><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCI4BiZ14CY">video</a></strong&gt;). Yesterday, the Football Field immediately south of the Bridger Bowl avalanched for the second time this season clearly demonstrating that once slopes are reloaded after an avalanche they are once again suspect (<strong><a href="https://mtavalanche.com/node/23752">details and photo</a></strong>). For a full recap of all recent avalanche activity visit the <a href="https://mtavalanche.com/avalanche-activity"><strong>avalanche activity log</strong></a> on our website.</p>

<p>Four days have passed since the last new load of snow and avalanches are less likely, but triggering a large slide remains a dangerous possibility. When persistent weak layers are in play, your forecasters play it safe by limiting our exposure to steep slopes. On my field day in the Bridger Range yesterday, heavily wind-drifted slopes were the most suspect (<strong><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eik8xqwQD7U">video</a></strong>).</p&gt;

<p>The avalanche danger is rated MODERATE. Careful snowpack assessment and cautious route selection are essential if you intend to travel on, underneath or adjacent to steep slopes.</p>

<p>The situation in Cooke City is more complicated. Persistent weak layers exist on some slopes and avalanches are breaking 1.5-2’ deep including a nearly fatal slide on the Fin on Friday and several human-triggered and natural avalanches on Saturday (<a href="https://www.mtavalanche.com/sites/default/files/accident-reports/2021-0… report</strong></a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0x5E-7XHwG8&amp;list=PLXu5151nmAvQDzKmH…; <a href="https://mtavalanche.com/node/23690">details</a&gt; <a href="https://mtavalanche.com/node/23690">1</a&gt;, <a href="https://mtavalanche.com/node/23710">2</a&gt;, <a href="https://mtavalanche.com/node/23732">3</a></strong&gt;). The weak layer is not universally distributed, and many slopes are stable. The easy way to avoid avalanches is to stay out of steep terrain thus eliminating the negative consequences of accidentally finding a slope with weak snow. However, if you want to ride or ski in avalanche terrain without rolling the dice you must carefully assess for instabilities in the top 3’ of the snowpack. Pay special attention to relatively shallow areas and wind-loaded slopes. Today, avalanches are possible and avalanche danger is rated MODERATE.</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>