Trip Planning for Northern Madison

as of 5:00 am
Dec 101″ | 15-30 W
Dec 9 4″ | 15-55 NW
Dec 8 1″ | 20-52 SW
9400′     12/12 at 2:00
19 ℉
W - 14 mph, Gusts 21
0 " New
8880′     12/12 at 03:00
18℉
20″ Depth
Primary Problem: Wind Slab
Bottom Line: New snow from Monday was easily drifted by winds on Tuesday forming fresh wind slabs that are the primary avalanche problem. The main strategy is to avoid slopes with recent wind loading. Unfortunately there is a layer of weak, faceted snow buried just under Monday’s powder.

Past 5 Days

Sat Dec 7

Low
Sun Dec 8

Moderate
Mon Dec 9

Moderate
Tue Dec 10

Considerable
Wed Dec 11

Considerable

Relevant Avalanche Activity

Northern Madison
Buck Ridge
Small Wet Loose on Eglise Rock
Incident details include images
Buck Ridge
WL-N-R1-D1-I
Elevation: 9,300
Aspect: S
Coordinates: 45.1960, -111.4360
Caught: 0 ; Buried: 0

On 12/4, from the junction of Buck Ridge and Third Yellow Mule, we observed one small loose-wet avalanche (R1 D1) on a S facing aspect on Eglise Rock that likely broke in the last day or two of hot temperatures. 

 


More Avalanche Details
Northern Madison
Big Sky Resort
Wet loose slides at Big Sky
Big Sky Resort
WL
Aspect: S
Coordinates: 45.2760, -111.4360
Caught: 0 ; Buried: 0

From BSSP "On steep solar aspects, the surface snow became unstable and low-volume slides ran.
Point releases would entrain the top 3-4”, running on firmer layers below."


More Avalanche Details
Northern Madison
Buck Ridge
Small Wind Slab Avalanches off Buck Ridge
Incident details include images
Buck Ridge
HS-NC-R1-D1-I
Elevation: 9,480
Aspect: E
Coordinates: 45.1719, -111.3740
Caught: 0 ; Buried: 0

"The head of Beaver Creek was scoured nearly to dirt and the cornice is quite large there already.  We noted one small wind slab avalanche just below it.  We found a similar avalanche in Second Yellowmule that again appeared to be from wind loading.  Both appeared to be several days old.  We dug a quick pit on a north facing slope in Second Yellowmule and had an ECTN in 85cm of snow.  Only the bottom 5cm or so of that pit were sugary and faceted. "


More Avalanche Details

Relevant Photos

Displaying 1 - 20
  • A small loose-wet avalanche on a S facing aspect on Eglise Rock was observed that likely broke in the last day or two. Photo: GNFAC 12/4/2024

  • The head of Beaver Creek was scoured nearly to dirt and the cornice is quite large there already.  We noted one small wind slab avalanche just below it.  We found a similar avalanche in Second Yellowmule that again appeared to be from wind loading.  Both appeared to be several days old. Photo: USFS Bozeman Snow Rangers 

  • The head of Beaver Creek was scoured nearly to dirt and the cornice is quite large there already.  We noted one small wind slab avalanche just below it.  We found a similar avalanche in Second Yellowmule that again appeared to be from wind loading.  Both appeared to be several days old. Photo: USFS Bozeman Snow Rangers

  • Big Sky Ski Patrol triggered a deep slide in the Big Couloir during avalanche mitigation work on 11/28/24: "Summit north peeled the cornice way back to the ridge and took out the upper hanging snowfield before crashing into the Couloir, leaving a 5-6’ tall crown in the chute above the dogleg." Photo: BSSP

  • WE facing snow at 8100 ft Cabin Ck

  • SE facing snow Cabin Creek

  • N facing snow Cabin Creek, 9000 ft

  • Big Sky Ski Patrol triggered this avalanche during mitigation work in The Wave on 11/26/24... "2-3' deep on an ice crust just above the ground with a 2# shot in the Upper rodeo. Volume was limited as most of the snow was loaded just underneath the cornice, but still produced a sizeable size 2... Other paths in the Lenin region ran meaty wind slabs, full track with no significant step downs." Photo: BSSP

  • Cracking on old, faceted, October snow hundreds of feet long. North facing near treeline. Photo: BSSP

  • Intentional, human-triggered avalanche by a ski patrol breaking at the ground on a north facing slope near treeline. Photo: BSSP

  • The snowpack remains thin (20-25 inches of mostly unconsolidated base) and there were plenty of rocks and stumps to hit, but coverage was better than I expected (and probably better than most of December 2023). Photo: GNFAC

  • On the drive toward Gallatin Canyon this morning, we saw large plumes of snow blowing off the high peaks. We didn't see evidence of recent wind transport on our tour, but I'd be watching out for it. Photo: GNFAC

  • Skiers in the upper part of Beehive Basin noted shooting cracks within the wind-drifted snow. Photo: T. Cox

  • Inch thick crust on SW slope in Divide Basin. Photo: C. Daniels

  • Snowpit at Bridger Bowl on 11/5. Photo: B. VandenBos

  • From e-mail: "Photo attached from near top of hyalite peak, 11/2. Cracking in recent hard wind slab, I had to really jump hard to make this. Walked on many other hard slabs that were well bonded. Highly variable snowpack. I think you'd be most likely to get into trouble by popping out a small hard slab pocket like this and getting magic carpeted into some thinly covered terrain." Photo: B. VandenBos

  • From obs: "1-3 mm faceting in front of the Montage. Clear skys and mid 20 temps"

  • On October 17, rain turned to snow and blanketed the mountains of southwest Montana with a fresh coat of snow. Photo: Yellowstone Club Webcam

  • On October 17, rain turned to snow and blanketed the mountains of southwest Montana with a fresh coat of snow. Photo: Bridger Bowl Webcams

  • The 26th annual fundraiser for the Friends of the GNFAC is October 25 at the Emerson Cultural Center. More info and tickets at: https://events.eventgroove.com/event/Powder-Blast-2024-101627

WebCams


8800' Camera, Lone Peak view

Yellowstone Club, Timberline Chair

Snowpit Profiles- Northern Madison

 

Select a snowpit on the map to view the profile image

Weather Forecast Northern Madison

Extended Forecast for

5 Miles NNW Big Sky MT

  • Overnight

    Overnight: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 14. Southwest wind around 10 mph.

    Low: 14 °F

    Mostly Cloudy

  • Thursday

    Thursday: Mostly cloudy, with a high near 26. South southwest wind around 10 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.

    High: 26 °F

    Mostly Cloudy

  • Thursday Night

    Thursday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 16. South wind around 10 mph, with gusts as high as 22 mph.

    Low: 16 °F

    Mostly Cloudy

  • Friday

    Friday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 23. Southwest wind 11 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph.

    High: 23 °F

    Mostly Sunny

  • Friday Night

    Friday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 15. South wind 15 to 18 mph, with gusts as high as 32 mph.

    Low: 15 °F

    Partly Cloudy

  • Saturday

    Saturday: A 20 percent chance of snow after 11am.  Partly sunny, with a high near 27. South wind 18 to 21 mph, with gusts as high as 36 mph.

    High: 27 °F

    Slight Chance
    Snow

  • Saturday Night

    Saturday Night: Snow likely, mainly after 11pm.  Mostly cloudy, with a low around 20. South wind 13 to 17 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph.  Chance of precipitation is 70%. New snow accumulation of 2 to 4 inches possible.

    Low: 20 °F

    Snow Likely

  • Sunday

    Sunday: Snow likely, mainly before 11am. The snow could be heavy at times.  Mostly cloudy, with a high near 21. West southwest wind 10 to 14 mph, with gusts as high as 23 mph.

    High: 21 °F

    Heavy Snow

  • Sunday Night

    Sunday Night: A chance of snow before 11pm.  Partly cloudy, with a low around 8.

    Low: 8 °F

    Chance Snow
    then Partly
    Cloudy

The Last Word

12 / 10 / 24  <<  
 
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