This photo is on my previous obs., but did not show up in the email... take 2.
I went to Beehive Basin and toured up Tyler's to the ridgeline, then to the north to dig a pit in Middle Basin. Wind was moderate with strong gusts out of the north when I got to the ridgeline, and it started to snow. By the time I left my snowpit at 1300 it had snowed 1.5cm, and wind let up but was still gusting moderate.
Tyler's was shallow and had either a wind crust or sun crust on top of 6-24" of faceted snow. Lots of tracks and wind scouring. Thin and firm conditions, and the new snow only improved appearance. Sun and wind sheltered slopes in Middle Basin still had soft, dry snow on the surface.
In my pit in Middle Basin I had stable results in 3 ects and 3 psts. ECTNs 20-29 and pst 42/100 arr, 47/100 arr on facets buried about a foot down. Pretty weak and generally stable. I put pit on website.
A big storm would be a concern on this snowpack. Otherwise, I think small fresh wind slabs and maybe an isolated larger slab that formed over the facets are only concerns right now. There are definitely weak layers, but I think large instabilities are isolated and fewer by the day. I don't think today's cms of snow will do much to change stability.
Photos attached of snow surface at the top of Tyler's and pit wall in Middle Basin.
Warm, windy (Westerly) day
Observed some wet loose activity on the Hyalite Canyon Road road cut.
Wednesday we were on snowbikes in the Hotel/Yale Creek drainages. We beat the snow up pretty hard on steep short slopes with no signs of instability. There was approximately 1" to 1.5" of new snow within the last week that could have easily been surface frost, frozen fog or just light snow. The weather was mild with clear skies to partly cloudy skies and a minimal amount of new snow falling. There is about 3 layers in the snow pack, the surface was light for the top 1/3, getting ice and crusty on the south slopes. We could hear the ice on the skies. The middle third of the snow pack is pretty consolidated, and the bottom snow pack with the temperature variance with the last weeks of high pressure systems seems to be falling apart and faceting. What we have seen in the last couple of weeks is a pretty solid base, however, with the longer high pressure systems, it appears to be coming apart down low towards the ground. We have seen this in many places in Eastern Idaho lately. Many of the streams are open in the big drainages due to the lack of snow. Places to cross can be challenging.
<p>Triggering large avalanches remains possible in the mountains around Cooke City. Last weekend’s snowfall and continuing wind drifting have loaded a weak layer buried around a foot and a half under the snow surface (<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQDLaHsyinU"><strong><u>video</u></stro…;). This weak layer is categorized as<em> persistent</em>, which means it will stick around and remain an issue for quite a while after being loaded. Winds this morning are the strongest they’ve been since the last snowfall. More snow is being transported and drifting into thicker slabs which could be triggered today. The snowfall forecast today is uncertain, but any new snow will add to the snow available for transport and drifting. Look for collapses, shooting cracks, and especially recent avalanches, as clear signs to avoid avalanche terrain. Large avalanches are possible and the avalanche danger is rated MODERATE.</p>
<p>Conditions are generally stable and large avalanches are unlikely across the rest of the advisory area. The primary concern is a weak layer 12-18” under the surface. While this weak layer is widespread it is only unstable in isolated areas where wind drifting has capped it with a dense slab of snow. The small avalanche that killed a snowmobiler last Sunday in Lionhead is a pointed reminder to stay on alert even when avalanches are unlikely (<a href="https://www.mtavalanche.com/accident/22/02/09"><strong><u>details</u></…;). Yesterday in the northern Bridger Range I found a snowpack that had been hammered by the wind (and stripped to dirt in many places), leaving generally stable conditions until it snows next (<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_EceIGw-UY"><strong><u>video</u></stro…;
<p>Keep your eyes open for signs of instability and keep adhering to safe travel practices as insurance in case you get surprised by an isolated instability. Always carry rescue gear (beacon, shovel, probe). Go one at a time on steep slopes. And keep an eye on your partners while they’re on those steep slopes. For today the avalanche danger is rated LOW in the mountains from Bozeman to West Yellowstone. </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><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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From obs: "Naturals from Pebble today. Appeared to be failing on the SH 20cm down. I dug at 8800’, SE, HS150, ECTP11, failing on 2mm SH that’s sitting on top of 20-30 cm of small grain facets. Multiple hand pits failed during isolation on same layer."
Natural avalanches released on or before 2/6/22 in Goose Creek.
