GNFAC Avalanche Forecast for Wed Apr 2, 2025

GNFAC Avalanche Forecast for Wed Apr 2, 2025

This is Mark Staples with the avalanche forecast on Wednesday, April 2nd, at 7:00 a.m. sponsored by the Gallatin County Sheriff Search and Rescue and the Yellowstone Club Community Foundation. This forecast does not apply to operating ski areas.

Mountain Weather

Snow continued falling yesterday in the mountains near Bozeman and Big Sky with 2-3 inches during the day followed by another 2-3 inches very early this morning.

Snowfall totals since Monday morning:

  • Bridger Range - 18” snow (2.2”  water)
  • Big Sky - 8-9” snow (0.8” water)
  • West Yellowstone and Island Park areas - 7-10” snow (0.7-0.9” water)
  • Cooke City areas - 4-6” snow (0.4” water)

This morning, light snow continues to fall near Bozeman and Big Sky. Mountain temperatures are in the mid teens F but closer to 20 degrees F in the Bridgers. Light winds from the west are blowing 5-10 mph gusting in the teens. 

Today moisture descending from the north will continue bringing snow to the northern areas this morning, then to southern parts of the forecast area this afternoon. 1-3 inches should fall in most areas by the end of the day. Cold air will keep high temperatures in the low to mid 20s; however, some sun could appear this afternoon near Bozeman and push high temperatures in the Bridgers closer to freezing. Winds will blow more from the northwest around 10 mph. They may increase a bit mid-morning with gusts in the 20s.

Snowpack and Avalanche Discussion

All Regions

Avalanche Activity: Yesterday ski patrols easily triggered soft slab avalanches with ski cuts and explosives. In the Bridger Range where the most snow fell, those slides were much larger and ran surprising distances. Some of these slides broke at the new/old snow interface while others broke on soft layers within the new snow as Dave and Haylee found in the northern Bridgers yesterday. A skier near Cooke City  intentionally triggered a soft slab on a steep north facing slope.

There are three avalanche problems to consider today:

  1. Wind slabs - The strongest winds happened yesterday morning. Fortunately winds overall have been pretty light. Along upper ridgelines and under cornices, light drifting has created pockets of thick new snow and soft wind slabs. These places will be the most likely spots to trigger an avalanche today, but they are also easy to avoid.
  2. Storm slabs - Since yesterday subtle layers in the new snow have been bonding to each other and to the old snow surface, thus reducing the odds of triggering a soft storm slab avalanche, but we can’t write this problem off just yet. 
  3. Dry loose avalanches or sluffs - More snow falling today means there will be some sluffing in the steepest terrain. These types of avalanches typically start at your feet and are mostly a concern for skiers or snowboarders. Making a turn or two and stopping to let the sluff run ahead is one option. Read more HERE.

Travel advice for today: (1) Avoid places at the tops or sides of slopes where winds have drifted some snow making the powder more cohesive and more likely to avalanche. (2) Watch for any signs like shooting cracks that the new snow is unstable and consider doing some quick tests like Dave shows in this video. Jump on small test slopes and walk/ride above other tracks to get a feel for how the new snow is bonded.  (3) If getting into steeper terrain where getting pushed downhill could be a problem, consider how to manage sluffing.

Today the avalanche danger is MODERATE.

The Last Word

Hyalite Road Closure 

The Hyalite Canyon Road is closed to ALL MOTORIZED VEHICLES until the morning of May 16. This is a regular annual road closure to reduce road damage during the spring thaw. Bicycle and foot traffic are allowed. Contact the Bozeman FS Ranger District for more info.

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