24-25

Second photo of an avalanche likely triggered by a snowplow flinging snow onto the shoulder along 191 inside YNP. Not a dangerous avalanche but an indicator of dangerous conditions higher up in the mountains where the snow is deeper

Avalanche likely triggered by a snowplow flinging snow onto the shoulder along 191 inside YNP. Not a dangerous avalanche, but an indicator of dangerous conditions higher up in the mountains where the snow is deeper

Cut bank avalanche 3 Jan 25 along the Teepee Creek snowmobile trail 

We rode to the divide between Cabin and Teepee Creeks and then the fog/clouds set in and we couldn't go higher or further out.

From the moment we left the trail there was WIDESPREAD collapsing all day long. Snowpits were consistently 3-4 feet deep and the weak layer usually a foot above the ground. At higher elevations, I suspect that the weak layer is closer to 2 feet above the ground. Because of the widespread collapsing and very bad visibility, we were hyper-aware of slope angles so that we didn't inadvertently get on or under avalanche terrain.

Small slopes at low elevations were avalanching including some along Hwy 191 in YNP. It's always a bad sign when road cuts are avalanching. 

We stayed away from ALL AVALANCHE TERRAIN.

The good news - the powder is incredible, the coverage is excellent, and this snow is exactly what we need to heal the weak layer. Unfortunately, avalanche conditions have to get worse before they get better.

Lots of 9''-10'' soft slabs running on the overnight snow/Thursdays density change interface, pretty much one side to the other on the East face. Mostly naturals, one skier triggered. D'oh!

Quick late day trip up to Goose creek meadow to check coverage. OVC sky, L wind, S. Limited vis. HS 60-80cm at ~7400'. Probing showed a very weak pack, weakest below the last week's snow. Some prev wind redistribution, areas of 90 cm. 

Collapsing, localized. 3 audible collapses when poking around well off trail and in unskied areas~7300'. ENE aspect off ridge. 2-3m radius, HS 80+. Seemed to need some prev loading to show instability. No time to investigate but likely collapses were between the last week's snow and  the Dec drought layer, which probed very weak.

We observed many large whumps and shooting cracks while headed up the meadows of Cinnamon mountain today, several of which were large enough to shake nearby saplings. These collapses were likely triggering on the recently buried layer of basal facets. Conditions included warm temps, light SW winds, overcast to obscured cloud cover, and S-1 to S1 precip including steady graupel. Nothing particularly surprising considering the conditions in nearby areas, and we chose to keep our terrain choices conservative.

3-4 foot crown about 100 yards wide on East face of sheep mountain.