Happy Halloween weekend! This is Karl Birkeland from the Gallatin
 National Forest Avalanche Center with your first early season
 Avalanche Information Bulletin. Today is Friday, October 29th, and
 this information will be updated sometime next week.


 WEATHER

 After the dry fall weather of the last few years, it looks like maybe
 this winter will kick into gear with a proper Montana start! Weve been
 picking up a bit of snow here and there since around mid-October, and
 weve got more on the way. Last nights rain pounding on your roof
 should have given you an indication of still more snow in the
 mountains. From what I can figure out with the limited data we have
 available, the Bridgers picked up about 4 to 8 inches of new snow,
 while the Moonlight/Big Sky/Yellowstone Club area received anywhere
 from 8 to 14 inches. The new snow came in with strong west winds which
 have resulted in sizable drifts on lee slopes. From the weather
 maps, it looks like more is on the way. This weekend and into next
 week we have a number of possible weather disturbances moving through
 our area with the potential for more snow. The first one is forecast
 to come through early Sunday morning it could be a Happy Halloween
 present from Old Man Winter!


 SNOWPACK AND AVALANCHES

 In most mountain areas we started getting snow around the middle of
 this month. Since then weve see some slow and steady accumulations.

 One of the bigger dumps came just last night, when up to a foot or
 more of new snow fell in many higher elevation locations. Total snow
 on the ground still isnt all that much. In most areas there is about 1
 ½ to 2 ½ feet of snow, which wont always keep you off the rocks. But,
 in some protected high-elevation pockets there is enough snow to make
 a few careful turns, and people have been getting out. Id anticipate
 that more folks will be heading out this weekend to either find some
 turns or try to track down that elusive elk.


 However, both hunters and those in search of turns should be aware of
 the current avalanche conditions. By last weekend there was enough
 snow that we had our first skier- triggered avalanche of the
 season. On Sunday the 24th a skier was up in the Frazier Lake area of
 the northern Bridger Range on a steep, windloaded slope. While getting
 onto the slope all the new snow he had been hoping to ski cracked and
 slid away in an avalanche. These sorts of situations are not to be
 taken lightly; nearly every year we have some early season avalanches
 triggered by skiers, and these slides can easily take you on a
 nasty ride into rocks in addition to the danger of being buried. Our
 problems have been compounded by last nights storm. This morning the
 ski patrols at Big Sky and Moonlight Basin both reported some natural
 avalanche activity. At Moonlight several wind loaded slopes
 released 1 to 2 feet deep avalanches that ran a fair ways down their
 paths. Some of these slides included more snow than just last nights
 storm.


 Given the conditions, its clear that the potential exists for
 dangerous human- triggered avalanches on steep slopes in the
 backcountry. If you are heading out to go skiing or snowboarding, make
 sure you are aware of the avalanche conditions, that you carry
 avalanche rescue gear like beacons, probes and shovels, and that you
 expose no more than one person to any avalanche terrain at one time.

 If you are hunting, be aware of the potential danger of any steep,
 open, snow covered slope. While hunting you probably arent thinking
 about avalanches, so the best bet is to stay out of avalanche terrain,
 which basically consists of snow-covered slopes that are open or have
 only widely spaced trees. The most dangerous slopes will be those that
 have recent drifts of windblown snow, and those will tend to be found
 on the lee sides of ridges or on the sides of gullies.


 If you get out this weekend, be sure to give us a call at our office
 at 587-6984 and let us know about the snow conditions you found. And
 if you head out hunting and see a lot of elk, feel free to give me a
 call and let me know where I can find them!


 If you are hiking for turns, remember that youll be encountering
 backcountry conditions and you will be the one who will have to keep
 track of the avalanche conditions. Also, remember that Big Sky and
 Moonlight Basin are on private property and prohibit early season
 skiing within their ski areas. Doug, Ron, and Scott will be coming
 back in to the office starting next week, and Im sure theyll have more
 avalanche information for you then.