Snowmobilers & Skiers: Snow in Island Park, trail and avalanche reports

Fremont County Snowmobile Trail Report - January 10. Idaho requires ALL out-of-state snowmobilers to purchase a nonresident snowmobile user certificate.  No exceptions.  And remember, riding a snowmobile on plowed roads is illegal in Fremont County.  If you are unfamiliar with the trail system please obtain a copy of the Winter Recreation Trails map available at businesses throughout Island Park and at the Fremont County Courthouse.  No new snow reported.  Watch for fog.

Trails most recently groomed: Two Top/Twin Creek Trail     Meadow Creek Trail     Big Springs Loop     Rae's Pass     Chick Creek Trail     Inter-connecting trails between Last Chance and Island Park Village     Stamp Meadows Trail     Box Canyon Trail     Elk Creek/Trude Siding Trail     I.P. Bills/Lakeside Trail     Highway 47/Mesa Falls Scenic Byway to Bear Gulch
 
The trail to Grassy Lake/Flagg Ranch will be groomed today, Jan.10. Please watch for the groomer during the daylight hours.
 
For additional snow depths and avalanche information: islandparksnow.net

Big Falls Inn is now open to snowmobilers on the weekends.   The Inn will be open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday as a site to warm up when visiting Upper Mesa Falls.
 
For information regarding the cross country ski trails on the Targhee National Forest please call 558-7301
 
Gallatin National Forest AVALANCHE ADVISORY January 10

MOUNTAIN WEATHER. Yesterday was warm with temperatures at 8,000’ in the low 30s and ridgetop winds were westerly at 15-25 mph.  Today it’s all going to change; a cold front is dropping in from the north. Already winds have increased to 25-40 m.p.h. out of the west, and as the front approaches these will get stronger.   Temperatures will drop throughout the day with overnight lows near zero.  Snow is also forecasted with accumulations by tomorrow morning of 2-3 inches in the north and 3-6 inches in the southern mountains. 

SNOWPACK AND AVALANCHE DISCUSSION

The Bridger Range: Yesterday, Karl Birkeland and I went into the northern Bridger Range near Flathead Pass.  There wasn’t a square inch of ground that was untouched by the wind and the skiing was as bad as it gets.  In many spots the surface was either waves of sastrugi or a shiny rain crust from December 6th.  The snowpack was mostly faceted snow, but where wind slabs were more than 2 inches thick we would get collapses and cracking on the slope.  With a widespread layer of facets I was concerned that our collapses would propagate uphill to steeper terrain and avalanche.  This is exactly what happened in Lionhead Dec 28 that killed a 19 y.o. boy.  It was fresh on my mind and we chose to not skin into avalanche terrain.   Click on this video clip for a look at what we found:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zx6IRkjd63M

There’s lots of terrain where the avalanche danger is Low—areas where the snow was stripped.  But there are also slopes where hard, meaty, wind slabs are sitting on junky, weak snow.    These slopes don’t seem to be widespread, but if you find one you’ll probably trigger a slide.    For today, the avalanche danger is CONSIDERABLE on wind-loaded slopes and LOW everywhere else.   

The northern Gallatin, and northern Madison Ranges: Reports from the Big Sky Ski Patrol and also from backcountry skiers in Beehive Basin in the northern Madison Range indicate the snowpack is getting more stable.   Wind-loaded slopes are still a concern, especially in light of the natural slide on Fan Mountain Monday that followed the weekend wind fest!  For today, the avalanche danger is MODERATE on all wind-loaded slopes or non-wind loaded slopes steeper than 35 degrees.  All other slopes have a LOW danger.  

The southern Gallatin and southern Madison Ranges, including the Lionhead Area near West Yellowstone, the mountains around Cooke City and the Washburn Range:  The winds picked up again last night and unlike the northern mountains, the southern ranges have quite a bit of snow to move around.  The southern Gallatin and Madison Ranges have faceted snow at the ground and buried surface hoar 2 feet deep.  I was getting clean shears at this hoar layer on Sunday in the Lionhead area.  On many slopes these facets are capped with a thick, supportable wind slab—a dangerous combination.

The mountains outside Cooke City have a slightly different problem.  They received the most snow, over 2 feet, and got more than their share of ripping winds.    This alone is a stability issue.  But compounding the problem is that southerly slopes have facets sitting on an ice crust 3-4 feet deep. Today, the avalanche danger is CONSIDERABLE on all wind-loaded slopes while a MODERATE danger exists on all other slopes.  

This is part of the December 29, 2006 online edition of The Island Park News.

Have an opinion on this matter? We'd like to hear from you. Click here.