Snowpack and Avalanche Discussion
<p><strong><span><span><span><span><span><span>Here’s what we know:</span></span></span></span></span></span></strong></p>
<ul>
<li><span><span><span><span><span><span>A lot of snow has fallen during the last week+. The Bridger Range had an impressive 3 day storm total of 35 inches (2.45 inches of SWE). Most other areas have gotten similar snowfall containing 2-3 inches of SWE but spread out over the last week. </span></span></span></span></span></span></li>
<li><span><span><span><span><span><span>More snow is coming with higher water amounts going into this weekend.</span></span></span></span></span></span></li>
<li><span><span><span><span><span><span>The snowpack continues to talk to us with collapsing, whumpfs, and avalanches. </span></span></span></span></span></span><a href="https://www.mtavalanche.com/snow-observations-list"><span><span><span><… out our observations page</span></span></u></span></span></span></span></span></a><span><span><span><span><span><span> to view the latest reports with all these red flags.</span></span></span></span></span></span></li>
<li><span><span><span><span><span><span>Visibility has generally been poor (b/c it’s snowing so much), so we don’t really know the full extent of avalanche activity. There has likely been a lot more than has been observed or reported.</span></span></span></span></span></span></li>
<li><span><span><span><span><span><span>There is a widespread layer of weak faceted snow now buried 1.5-3 feet deep (more in wind loaded areas) that formed on the snow surface just after Thanksgiving into the first week of December.</span></span></span></span></span></span></li>
<li><span><span><span><span><span><span>Winds have generally been light the last 3 days (especially in the Bridgers, weird right?) but that also means there is a lot of snow available for them to transport when they eventually pick up.</span></span></span></span></span></span></li>
</ul>
<p><span><span><span><span><span><span><strong>The best travel advice</strong> for today is to remain patient, be conservative, and enjoy fantastic powder riding on slopes less than 30 degrees in steepness. </span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p><span><span><span><span><span><span><strong>Assessing stability</strong> on individual slopes is challenging right now and worth considering the big picture (many red flags). Ian discusses the challenges in his </span></span></span></span></span></span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpUgf_rn2qs"><span><span><span><span><s… from skiing near Hebgen Lake</span></span></u></span></span></span></span></span></a><span><span><span><span><span><span> yesterday. So much snowfall is great in the long run because the snowpack will become strong and stable. In the short term, all that new snow is adding weight and stress which lead to avalanches. Also, areas where the weak layer is buried closer to 3 feet deep will probably not give you any obvious signs of instability like collapsing but may still produce an avalanche.</span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p><span><span><span><strong><span><span>Persistent slab avalanches 1.5-3 feet deep</span></span></strong></span></span></span><span><span><span><span><span><span> or deeper in high alpine terrain are the primary problem. I’m unsure of the likelihood of triggering one of these slides but am sure today has dangerous avalanche conditions because so many red flags are present. For today the avalanche danger is CONSIDERABLE.</span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
Upcoming Avalanche Education and Events
Our education calendar is full of awareness lectures and field courses. Check it out: Events and Education Calendar
