Uncategorized
You are the Eyes and Ears of the Avalanche Center
Published
13 years agoon
Posted By
AdminBy Doug Chabot
All winter long at 4 a.m. Eric, Mark
or I are in the office, coffee in hand,
our minds slowly waking to put
together the morning’s avalanche
advisory. The meat of the advisory
is the snowpack discussion, which
we craft into a few paragraphs, and
concludes with the avalanche danger
rating. We determine the stability
by digging holes, isolating columns,
doing stability tests and taking notes
on everything we’re seeing. One of
us is out with a partner most days
of the week, but even so, we can’t
always get everywhere we need.
Our advisory area encompasses
6,000 square miles of terrain including
the Bridger Range, the Gallatin
and Madison Ranges from Bozeman
to Big Sky and West Yellowstone,
and also the Beartooths near Cooke
City. With an area this large it’s
impossible to see it all on a regular
basis, so we rely on the public observations
to help us formulate the
avalanche danger.
We are a small avalanche center and
do not have formal requirements for
skiers or snowmobilers to send us
observations. We listen to everyone,
filtering the information as it comes
into our email. If you get outside to
recreate, no matter your skill level,
you can be our eyes and ears. A few
simple observations are all we need.
The easiest way is to go to mtavalanche.
com and click on “Submit
an Observation” or email us directly
at mtavalanche@gmail.com.
Working together, we can reduce
uncertainty with snowpack stability;
all it takes is answering a few
basic questions:
Weather observations: How much
new snow? Wind direction? Wind
speed estimate? Cloud cover?
Avalanche Observations: Did you
notice any recent avalanche activity?
Collapsing/cracking or other
signs of instability?
Snowpit Observations: If you dug
a snowpit, what was the weakest
layer? How far down was it? What
were stability test scores?
General Thoughts: Anything else
relevant regarding ski or snowmobile
conditions?
Folks tend to think we need scientific
data, but this is not so. While a
snowpit is definitely helpful, pictures
are another valuable way to
convey a message. If you triggered an
avalanche and wrote us, maybe even
gave us a few pictures, we would
be indebted. And fear not, unlike
WikiLeaks, we respect people’s privacy
and will also keep the location of
their secret powder stashes secret.
Even a simple sentence can give
us great information. For example:
“Two inches of new snow, no instability,
great skiing, and no windloading”
says a lot, especially if we
haven’t been to that area in a while.
It takes the guesswork out for us,
and it gives us something concrete to
work with.
The next time you head out, drop
us a line, send us a picture and let
us know what you found. The
avalanche advisories will be better
because of it.
You may like
Upcoming Events
april, 2024
Event Type :
All
All
Arts
Education
Music
Other
Sports
Event Details
Children turning 5 on or before 9/10/2024:
more
Event Details
Children turning 5 on or before
9/10/2024: Kindergarten
enrollment for the 2024-2025 school year can be completed by following the
registration process now.
Children
born on or after September 11, 2019: 4K enrollment is now open for
families that have a 4-year-old they would like to enroll in our program for
the 2023-2024 school year. Please complete the 4K Interest Form to
express your interest. Completing this form does not guarantee enrollment into
the 4K program. Enrollment is capped at twenty 4-year-olds currently
residing within Big Sky School District boundary full time and will be
determined by birth date in calendar order of those born on or after September
11, 2018. Interest form closes on May 30th.
Enrollment now is critical for fall preparations. Thank you!
Time
February 26 (Monday) - April 21 (Sunday)
Event Details
Saturday, March 23rd 6:00-8:00pm We will combine the heart-opening powers of cacao with the transcendental powers of breathwork and sound. Together, these practices will give us the opportunity for a deep
more
Event Details
Saturday, March 23rd 6:00-8:00pm
Time
March 23 (Saturday) 6:00 pm - April 23 (Tuesday) 8:00 pm
Location
Santosha Wellness Center
169 Snowy Mountain Circle
Event Details
We all are familiar with using a limited palette, but do you use one? Do you know how to use a
more
Event Details
We all are familiar with using a limited palette, but do you use one? Do you know how to use a limited palette to create different color combinations? Are you tired of carrying around 15-20 different tubes when you paint plein air? Have you ever wanted to create a certain “mood” in a painting but failed? Do you create a lot of mud? Do you struggle to achieve color harmony? All these problems are addressed in John’s workbook in clear and concise language!
Based on the bestselling “Limited Palatte, Unlimited Color” workbook written by John Pototschnik, the workshop is run by Maggie Shane and Annie McCoy, accomplished landscape (acrylic) and plein air (oil) artists,exhibitors at the Big Sky Artists’ Studio & Gallery and members of the Big Sky Artists Collective.
Each student will receive a copy of “Limited Palette, Unlimited Color” to keep and take home to continue your limited palette journey. We will show you how to use the color wheel and mix your own clean mixtures to successfully create a mood for your paintings.
Each day, we will create a different limited palette color chart and paint a version of a simple landscape using John’s directives. You will then be able to go home and paint more schemes using the book for guidance.
Workshop is open to painters (oil or acrylic) of any level although students must have some basic knowledge of the medium he or she uses. Students will be provided the book ($92 value), color wheel, value scale and canvas papers to complete the daily exercises.
Sundays, April 14, 21 and 28, 2024
Noon until 6PM.
$170.
Time
14 (Sunday) 12:00 pm - 28 (Sunday) 6:00 pm
Event Details
Come join us at Cowboy Coffee as we celebrate a fun night of drinks, games, and meeting others within the community. This event is from 6-8 and all are welcome
Event Details
Come join us at Cowboy Coffee as we celebrate a fun night of drinks, games, and meeting others within the community. This event is from 6-8 and all are welcome to come, if you don’t know who to bring come alone this is a great mixer event! This is an event hosted by Big Sky OUT as we work to provide queer safe spaces throughout the community.
Time
(Sunday) 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Location
Cowboy Coffee
25 Town Center Ave. Big Sky, MT 59716