22-23

From email: "Skied NW of Cooke City today.

Yesterday the temps got up to 35 deg F at the NE Entrance SNOTEL. (It was raining hard and in the low 40's F yesterday between Laurel and Big Timber on I90.)

It didn't appear that it rained here, but there was upside-down trail breaking in the lower elevations today and hazardous conditions around 8700' as the slab got thicker.  The cold temps of last week definitely weakened/ faceted the snow in the thinner snowpack areas.  Photos attached of some cracking and a D1 soft slab that I remotely triggered with an intentional ski cut.  The slab was about 6"-1.5' deep and about 50' wide.  It was a SE aspect around 8700.

Above 9k', the snow structure was looking a lot better, and I was getting ECTNs (snowpit attached), and no more collapsing nor cracking.  The trees are CAKED with snow above 9k' in wind-sheltered areas."

A splitboarder triggered shooting cracks on a slope northwest of Cooke City. Photo: B. Fredlund

A skier intentionally triggered this avalanche northwest of Cooke City. Photo: B. Fredlund

location:

Northern Madison Range
9,400 ft (below ridge top leeward and trees) 
130° SE aspect
110cm Depth of Snow
24° slope

CT 12
ECTN 11 @ 20cm down

Widespread collapsing.
Terrain choices:  very simple

We went for a short tour this morning in Beehive Basin up to Prayer Flags. We found about 2 inches of dense snow that did not appear to have been transported by the wind. Beehive peak was painted white by the dense snow that stuck to it. We found good skiing conditions on our first run into Middle Basin. On our way back up, the sun came out and the snow surface started to rapidly warm on any aspect the sun touched. Snow bombs fell from trees, skins glopped, and we noticed pinwheels and small point releases around rocks. At that point the skiing began to deteriorate and we decided to call it a day early around 11 AM. On our final run back to the car we saw a sluff in the going home gully on a west aspect around 9,000’ that ran into another party’s old tracks (photo included).