Snowpack and Avalanche Discussion
<p>Today, the 10” of recent snow in Cooke City will get hit by above-freezing temperatures and the powerful April sun for the first time. Natural and human-triggered <strong>wet loose avalanches are likely </strong>on steep slopes facing the southern half of the compass rose.<strong> </strong>These will start narrowly at a point and spread as they entrain this weekend’s snow. Rocks and cliff bands are common areas for these slides to start, and the underlying crusts make for slick sliding surfaces. These avalanches are most dangerous in steep and confined terrain where they don’t have room to spread out. Move to shadier and cooler north-facing aspects before the day’s warmth melts the surface snow. Cinnamon roll-like roller balls and small wet snow avalanches indicate that slopes are destabilizing rapidly.</p>
<p>Yesterday, ski guides in Cooke City noted numerous natural <strong>wind slab avalanches</strong> running long distances (<a href="https://www.mtavalanche.com/node/34907"><strong><span>observation</span…;). Strong winds during the weekend’s storm drifted snow into slabs two feet thick. Wind-loaded slopes are stabilizing, but some will still release under the weight of a skier or rider. Find better snow quality and safer conditions by looking for more sheltered terrain and avoiding the most heavily wind-loaded slopes below cornices.</p>
<p>Assess the stability of recent snow before considering skiing and riding steep terrain by watching for a moistening of the snow surface, obvious signs of instability and performing a quick extended column test down to the crust buried one to two feet deep.<span> </span></p>
<p><span>The danger in Cooke City is MODERATE for dry snow avalanches and will rise to CONSIDERABLE for wet snow slides.<span> </span></span></p>
<p>Cold temperatures refroze the snowpack and will delay the onset of wet snow instability in the Bridger, Gallatin, Madison, Lionhead and Centennial Ranges. As the day warms and the sun hits this weekend’s snow, there will be a few small <strong>wet loose avalanches</strong>, especially on rocky, south-facing slopes. With only a few inches of recent snow, these avalanches will only be a problem in very steep or extreme terrain where they could sweep a skier or rider off their feet, into obstacles and terrain traps. Redirect to cooler, northerly aspects if you observe pinwheels and small wet slides. Wet loose avalanches will be more significant in isolated areas in the upper reaches of the Northern Gallatin Range (<a href="https://www.mtavalanche.com/weather/stations/shower-falls-snotel-site">… Falls SNOTEL</span></strong></a>), where more snow fell in the last few days.</p>
<p>Outside of very steep and extreme slopes with southern aspects, the snowpack is generally stable, and avalanches are unlikely. The avalanche danger is LOW.</p>
![https://www.mtavalanche.com/sites/default/files/snow_obs/2025-04/screen…](https://www.mtavalanche.com/sites/default/files/snow_obs/2025-04/screenshot_2025-04-13_at_5.23.36_am.png"><span><span><span><span><span><u><span><span>period){kind=link}