Monday, January 21st, 2008 Good morning. This is Scott Schmidt with the Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Advisory issued on Monday, January 21, at 7:30 a.m. Gallatin County Search and Rescue, in cooperation with the Friends of the Avalanche Center, sponsor todays advisory. This advisory does not apply to operating ski areas. AVALANCHE FATALITY A young man was killed in an avalanche yesterday in Beehive Basin. The avalanche occurred on a southwest-facing slope located on the ridge that divides Beehive and Middle Basins. The young man and his partner had been skiing in Middle Basin and had dug a snowpit on a northeast-facing slope but they had not done a stability assessment on the slope that avalanched. Several people from another group had skied the slope just prior to the victim and his partner. The two skied further to the left of the route taken by the other party and triggered the avalanche on a steep role-over. The avalanche fractured 400 500 feet wide through several chutes, was 1 3 feet deep, and ran 500 vertical feet. The victim was caught and carried into a group of trees part way down the slope. Two people who witnessed the avalanche from the top of the ridge, the victims partner, and members of the party who where at the bottom of the slope, all started a transceiver search. The victim was recovered within 10 minutes of the time he was caught but unfortunately he had died of trauma. We at the Avalanche Center would like to extend of deepest sympathies to the family and friends of the victim. We will do an accident investigation today and Doug will have more details in tomorrows advisory. MOUNTAIN WEATHER For the first time in 5 days no new snow fell in the Bridger Range. One to three inches fell in the mountains around Big Sky, and 4 6 inches fell in the mountains around West Yellowstone and Cooke City. Winds have been northeast at 10 15 mph in most mountain ranges. The exception is the Bridger Range where northeast winds have been 20 30 mph. Morning temperatures are 15 20 below zero at 9000 feet. Skies will be clearing today, with northeast winds blowing 15 20 mph, and daytime high temperatures of 5 10 below zero at upper elevations. SNOWPACK AND AVALANCHE DISCUSSION The Gallatin Range and Madison Ranges: The snowpack in the mountains near Big Sky has produced significant avalanche activity in the past several days. Thursday, a skier escaped uninjured after being completely buried in an avalanche just south of Big Sky. Friday, the Yellowstone Club ski patrol released a large avalanche using explosives, and a skier was caught and killed in and avalanche north of Big Sky yesterday. These avalanches are all running on faceted snow approximately one foot above the ground. Dig down and look for this layer before you venture onto any slope in the Gallatin and Madison Ranges. Today the avalanche danger in these mountains remains CONSIDERABLE on all recently wind-loaded slopes and on non-wind-loaded slopes steeper than 35 degrees. Non-wind-loaded slopes that are less steep have a MODERATE avalanche danger. The Lionhead area near West Yellowstone, the mountains around Cooke City, and the Washburn Range: On Saturday, Doug investigated an avalanche in the mountains north of Cooke City that caught and injured a snowmobiler. This avalanche ran on a layer of faceted snow that is located approximately 3 feet above the ground on many south-facing slopes. You can see a video showing the crown fracture at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfPrp9MjC7U and photos of the slide are posted at: We have found this layer on Scotch Bonnet Mt and on Mt Abundance. All steep, south-facing slopes in this area should be avoided. A layer of faceted crystals buried 2 4 feet deep also exists in the Lionhead area near West Yellowstone. This layer is like to produce human-triggered avalanches, especially on steep slopes that have been loaded by winds. Today, a CONSIDERABLE avalanche danger exists on all wind-loaded slopes in the Lionhead area near West Yellowstone, the mountains around Cooke City, and the Washburn Range. A MODERATE danger exists on non-wind-loaded slopes. The Bridger Range: I did a tour on the west side of the Bridger Range Saturday. My partner and I found good snow stability on the slopes we investigated. We did find a layer of snow buried 2 3 feet beneath the surface that breaks cleanly and may be a problem as we get more load. The Bridger Bowl ski patrol reported wind drifts from yesterdays strong east wind were well bonded and didnt produce any significant avalanches when tested with explosives. Watch for wind- loading in unusual places as east winds continue today. The avalanche danger in the Bridger Range is CONSIDERABLE on all wind-loaded slopes. A MODERATE danger exists on non-wind-loaded slopes steeper then 35 degrees. Non-wind-loaded slopes that are less steep have a LOW danger.