Watch out for these three things in Beehive
We toured up to the prayer flags on the Ridge above Beehive Basin, got a good view around the basins, dug to the south of the cornice line there, and descended the south side of Tyler's path. Clear skies, slightly above freezing temperatures, and calm wind. The surface conditions were better than I would have expected, with dry snow/ no crust on all aspects other than those tilted south-facing. The lower elevation snow in the basin was getting wet by the time we departed at 2 PM. I would expect some wet loose avalanches this afternoon. No wind loading or signs of instability observed.
Our pit showed good stability (ECTX). This fits with the pattern of avalanche activity driven by snowy and windy periods that quickly improves with milder conditions in the mountains around Bozeman and Big Sky. We are optimistic about the nice weather and generally safe conditions coming up this weekend.
Watch out for these three things and you will be looking good to get into a fair amount of fun terrain this weekend in the Bridger, Northern Madison and Northern Gallatin Ranges, and the Centennial Mountains in Island Park:
- Wind-loaded terrain where you could find lingering wind slab instability.
- Cornices: They are really big currently, and we may see a few breaking off with the warm temperatures this weekend. These can collapse much farther back from the edge than expected.
- Wet snow: With forecasts calling for above freezing temperatures under sunny skies, we expect wet loose snow avalanches to slide on sunnier (south and west) aspects. These will generally be small and involve only the recent snow, but they can still injure or buried skiers, riders and climbers in steep terrain or gullies where they can push backcountry travelers into terrain traps (trees, gullies, cliffs, rocks).
Isolated instability can have significant consequences on larger or committing terrain objectives. Stack the deck in your favor by digging down a few feet and testing the snowpack so you don't get surprised.