Good morning. This is Doug Chabot with an early season avalanche information bulletin issued on Tuesday, October 23, 2012. This bulletin is sponsored by Montana Import Group in partnership with the Friends of the Avalanche Center. We will update this bulletin as conditions warrant, but in the meantime it might be good idea to put away the lawn furniture, bikes and skateboards and find your beacon, shovel and probe!
We just got our first taste of winter and I’m salivating for the full meal. Temperatures dropped into the 20s and snow fell throughout southwest Montana. The mountains around Cooke City picked up 12” of wet, dense snow (2” of SWE) while other areas got 2-4 inches. Lingering precipitation today with unsettled weather all week should keep winter sports on the brain.
Mark and Eric put up the Hyalite weather station on Flanders peak last Friday (video). Our Weather page has links to many of the stations; however, they are not all operational yet.
Keep the budding flames of winter alive by attending this Friday’s PowderBlast sponsored by MIG, Grizzly Outfitters and Mystery Ranch. It’s the Friend’s annual fundraiser held at 6:30 p.m. at the Emerson Cultural Center. $30 gets you food, beverages, music and awesome outdoor gear at our silent auction and raffle! Buy your tickers HERE (or at the Door) or check out our Facebook page for more information.
Given the cold, fall temperatures, this snow may stick around. Early season snow is the foundation to our winter’s snowpack and we pay close attention to it. Once on the ground snow changes quickly. Sometimes it becomes weaker and remains a problem for months. The best way to get a strong base layer is for more snow to fall while the worst option is for it to sit there exposed to cold temperatures.
With snow cover, we start thinking about avalanches. It is not unusual for people to trigger and get caught in slides this time of the year. Gullies get wind-loaded and can slide, even when the surrounding slopes are dirt. HUNTERS need to be especially aware of this since they often travel solo with their minds far away from avalanches. ICE CLIMBERS on Sphinx Mountain need to be aware of slides too. Wind and new snow can load the slopes that lead to the ice (video). A small avalanche killed two climbers here in October 2004. Instead of hunting for elk, SKIERS and BOARDERS will be hunting for snow, specifically in snow-choked gullies. Just remember, if there’s enough snow to ride, there’s enough snow to slide.
Education:
1. Check out our Avalanche Safety Workshops page for a listing of our longer courses.
2. Look at our Education Calendar for a full schedule of free one-hour lectures and avalanche classes offered by other providers.