In the Rocky Mountains early season snow is typically not good for stability. In southwest Montana, this year was on the worse end of the spectrum for bad stability caused by early season snow. Weak snow near the base of the snowpack resulted in large avalanches all season. Avalanche activity peaked with a widespread deep slab avalanche cycle in February. More snow followed and there was steady avalanche activity through April. For the first winter since 2012-13 there were zero avalanche fatalities in southwest Montana.
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