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Bearclaw bob Cooke city

bearclawbob

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SNOW

Evening from Cooke city. At this time we have been having heavy snow. Not sure what the snowman has in store for us at this time. It's been a busy couple of days. I plowed all day Thursday and some on Friday. We've picked up about 8-12 inches for the last couple of days in town.

AVALANCHE CONDITIONS:Yesterday, Alex was in Cooke and covered lots of ground north of town – he did not observe widespread avalanche activity. He did see one large avalanche that broke 4-6’ deep and hundreds of feet wide on the east face Henderson Mountain. A more common scenario will be slides breaking in the new and wind-blown snow.
Today, human triggered avalanches are likely on wind loaded slopes which have a CONSIDERABLE avalanche danger. Non-wind loaded slopes have a MODERATE avalanche danger.

Hope everyone is having a great weekend. Keep up the snow dance.
 

bearclawbob

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Sunny

Evening from Cooke city. I've have been gone for a couple of days. Went to a home builders convention. Lots of new things coming out. This was the first time that I have went to some thing like that. OK, back to the real world. We've seen about an inch of snow since I've been gone. The snowman is calling for a nice day tomorrow and by Saturday we have a great chance of snow for 7 cays straight. Keep up the snow dance.

AVALANCHE CONDITIONS: Wind-loading has created two overlapping concerns: one shallow, one deep. Recently wind-loaded slopes can avalanche 1-2 feet deep. An avalanche that caught and partially buried a skier outside Cooke City on Tuesday provides a perfect example of this concern.
Whether the wind-load is recent or weeks old, wind-loaded slopes have a MODERATE avalanche danger. The avalanches danger is LOW on all other slopes.
 

bearclawbob

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SNOW

Morning from Bearclaw / Bakery and the Super 8. The snowman again has put us in a winter storm watch. We could see up to 3 feet between Saturday morning till Tuesday night. At this time we will see sunny skies.

AVALANCHE CONDITIONS: Today, the avalanche danger is rated MODERATE on wind loaded slopes and LOW on all other slopes.
 

bearclawbob

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lightly snowing

Morning from Cooke city. The snowman hasn't gave us much snow yet. We picked up a trace of snow over night. The winter advisory is still on. Keep up the snow dance. The good thing about this morning was it was warmer. Woke up to 2 above instead of 23 below yesterday.

AVALANCHE CONDITIONS: There is an isolated chance a skier or rider could trigger a slide breaking on facets near the ground. Watch for this problem in areas where the snowpack is thinner or on slopes that have been heavily wind loaded. A few a slides earlier in the week are a reminder this problem is still lurking.

Today, human triggered avalanches are possible on wind loaded slopes which have a MODERATE avalanche danger. Non-wind loaded slopes have a LOW avalanche danger.
 

bearclawbob

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still snowing

Afternoon from Bearclaw / Bakery and the Super 8 motel. The snowman isn't putting down the white powder fast enough. He's still showing us in a winter storm watch. With up to 3 feet of snow by Tuesday night. So far we've pick up about 3 inches since yesterday. We should see about 7 inches of snow by tomorrow morning.

AVALANCHE CONDITIONS: Avalanches breaking deeper than new and wind-drifted snow are unlikely. On specific slopes there is an isolated chance you could trigger a deep avalanche similar to a couple that were triggered last week near Big Sky. The most suspect slopes for this problem are heavily wind loaded, or where the snowpack is relatively shallow (less than 3-5 feet). Today, avalanche danger is MODERATE on wind loaded slopes and LOW on non-wind loaded slopes. This afternoon danger will increase if snowfall is heavy.

When booking reservations at the Super 8, don't forget to mention the snowest discount. If you don't, you won't receive it later. You can save money if you do mention it.

The weekend has been really busy. Both for the bakery and I. Thank you very much for coming in and letting us serve you.
 

bearclawbob

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SNOW

Good morning from Bearclaw / Bakery and the Super 8 motel. It's been a wild ride today. The road in the park is closed, not sure how long it will be closed. The wind has been howling. The major problem is drifting. With that said the AVALANCHE DANGER has went up. The snowman still has us in a winter storm warning till Tuesday night. We could see another foot fall today.
We have a temp of 14 degrees, while Livingston and Billings are at 7 below. The snowman is telling me we could see snow for another 7 days.

AVALANCHE CONDITIONS: On non-wind loaded slopes, storm slabs 1-2’ thick and loose snow avalanches are easy to trigger and large enough to bury a person. Stability will decrease with more snow and wind today. Avalanche danger is HIGH on wind loaded slopes and CONSIDERABLE on all other slopes.
 

bearclawbob

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SNOW

Morning from Cooke city. The snowman has extended the snow to Wednesday at 11pm. We did pick up about a foot on the mountain. The wind just won't give up. Again, the park is closed till noon today. The snow on the mountain is deep and we are in a AVALANCHE WARNING TODAY. I had a guy come in this morning and his friend was caught in a avalanche on LULU. He was buried about 8 inches deep and was OK when they got to him.

AVALANCHE CONDITIONS: Since yesterday morning the southern ranges and mountains near Cooke City received another 1-1.5 feet of new snow (1.4-2.0” of snow water equivalent). This brings 48 hour snow totals to between 2 and 3 feet (2.8-4.2” of SWE). Strong southwest winds have drifted this snow into even thicker slabs on windloaded slopes. Large natural and human triggered avalanches of new and wind-drifted snow are likely today. Huge avalanches breaking on weak layers at the base of the snowpack are also possible. Yesterday in Cooke City, an avalanche was seen on a hill just above town and a rider was partially buried by a large avalanche (town hill). Avoid all steep slopes and the runout zones below. The avalanche danger is HIGH on all slopes.
 

bearclawbob

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Back

Good morning from Cooke city. As you can see I've been gone a couple of days. So much snow in town that I've been plowing for 12 hours a day. I've gotten caught up now.
The mountains have picked up about 2.5 feet of snow over the last couple of days. Yesterday woke up to clear and cold. The sun stayed out till about 1:30 and clouds came in and started to snow. Today the snowman still has us with a 30% chance of snow. Starting tomorrow we can see partly cloudy skies and temps. below zero at night till Wednesday when snow moves back into the picture.
The avalanche danger has been HIGH.

AVALANCHE CONDITIONS: A break in the weather yesterday allowed the avalanche warning to expire and gave the snowpack a well needed sigh of relief. After being inundated by multiple feet of snow over the past week, the snowpack is slowly adjusting and stability is gradually improving.
A less probable but more dangerous problem are slides breaking on weak layers buried deep in the pack. Slides failing in the new snow could step down and trigger on of these monsters, or a skier or rider could find a specific trigger point that could release the entire slope.
Today, careful snowpack evaluation and conservative decision making are essential. Dangerous avalanche conditions exist and the avalanche danger is rated CONSIDERABLE.
 

bearclawbob

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partly cloudy

Morning from Bearclaw / Bakery and the Super 8 motel. The snowman is giving us a break from the snow, but not from the temp's. We saw 13 below this morning and for the next 3 days. He said that the snow needed to settle down so the avalanche conditions would go down. Every one should have been here yesterday. What a great day to ride. We will see sunny skies for the next two day. Then look out the snow moves back into the picture on Wednesday.

AVALANCHE CONDITIONS: Yesterday, a skier outside of Cooke City observed numerous natural avalanches that failed in the new snow. Today, similar slides are likely, mainly on slopes with wind drifted snow. A less probable but more dangerous problem are slides breaking on weak layers buried deep in the pack. Slides failing in the new snow could step down and trigger on of these monsters, or a skier or rider could find a specific trigger point that could release the entire slope.

Today, careful snowpack evaluation and conservative decision making are essential. Dangerous avalanche conditions exist and the avalanche danger is rated CONSIDERABLE.
 
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bearclawbob

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Sunny

Morning from a chilly start for a Monday in Cooke city. It's 15 below and a great day starting off with sun. It's going to warm up to mid teen's today. The snowman is still calling for sun shine tomorrow.
The snow is starting to get tracked up, but you can still find lots of untracked area's.

AVALANCHE CONDITIONS: Today you can avoid avalanches by avoiding steep slopes altogether, or you can choose steeper slopes through careful snowpack and terrain assessment. On specific slopes you can trigger an avalanche that breaks on weak snow at the base of the snowpack. To avoid these, avoid heavily wind loaded slopes and steep slopes with less than five feet of snow or variable snow depth. Avalanches can also break in recent storm snow.


Today avalanches are possible to trigger and avalanche danger is MODERATE.

I still have people ask if I fill avy bottles, Yes I do. Along with renting avy packs, probes, shovels, beacons and radio's.

I had a lot of people use the shop this weekend and storing their sleds in a heated garage over night. If you need a tool and don't have one, stop in and I will lone you one.
 

Scott

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He's a great guy, he should be showing up today. Thanks for letting me know where he was.

You'll have to ask him how much fuel he had when he returned to the Hot Springs after we send him down the road. I think he said he had about 20 miles left on his tank when we met up with him....we took him part of the way back before we parted ways.
 

kanedog

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Bearclaw Bob I love your reports. It is nice to hear live and honest condition reports. Thank you for your dedication and time!

Sent from my SM-G920W8 using Tapatalk
 

bearclawbob

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Sunny

Morning from Cooke city. The snowman was calling for snow today, but at this time we have wonderful weather. We could see snow tonight and tomorrow. What a great day to ride. My web cam is back up and going outside.

AVALANCHE CONDITIONS: Today, human triggered avalanches are possible and the avalanche danger is rated MODERATE.

Tomorrow is the HOG ROAST.
 

bearclawbob

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snow

Morning from Cooke city. The snowman has put us in a winter storm warning from today till Friday afternoon. We could see 12- 24 inches of snow fall on the mountain.
I just got back from Nebraska where I spent 10 days from all the flooding that's going on. The cabin in Fremont was right in the middle of the floods. They are saying it was a perfect storm. Five levy's broke which caused more of the problems. I lost lots of items, including two cars and a flooded basement. I will be heading back in about 10 days. I've got a good month of clean up. I do have to say that I didn't suffer as bad as a lot of folks. Cattle, pigs and whole houses have been swept away. My thoughts and prays go out to them.

AVALANCHE CONDITIONS:
Avalanches are unlikely this morning, but will become more likely as temperatures rise and crusts break down. Near Cooke City, skiers found the new snow well bonded to the old snow surface. After a day of warm temperatures, this will be the case on most slopes. Still, as the day heats up, you could trigger small loose snow avalanches, particularly in areas that were cloudy yesterday but are sunny today. There may also be isolated pockets where you could trigger a wind slab avalanche.

Avalanche danger is LOW this morning and will rise to MODERATE this afternoon.
 

bearclawbob

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overcast

Morning from Cooke city. The snowman is letting me down. As of today, we haven't seen snow fall yet. He still has us in a winter storm warning. We still could see up to 8 inches today. The long range forecast is snow all next week.

AVALANCHE CONDITIONS: Avalanche activity will be confined to today’s new snow; nothing will break deeper. The snow will easily sluff off the frozen surface and travel fast and far down the slope. Winds are expected to pick up and minor wind-drifting is possible. Of course, both these concerns only come into play if it snows.
For today, the avalanche danger throughout our forecast area is LOW.
 
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