dougchabot

Doug, director of the Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Center, received his B.A. in Outdoor Education from Prescott College in 1986. From 1990 to 1999 he worked as a professional ski patroller at Bridger Bowl Ski Area in Bozeman, Montana. Starting part-time in 1995, and moving to full-time in 1998, Doug has worked for the GNFAC as an avalanche specialist. He's worked as a professional mountain guide in Alaska and the western US from 1989 to the present. During the summers Doug has worked work as a consultant for humanitarian projects in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Doug has been on 16 Alaskan climbing expeditions as well as climbs in Nepal, India, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Avalanche Report Southwest Montana – Avalanches are likely to be triggered this weekend

Heads up in the backcountry. It's bad out there. Folks are triggering avalanches from low angled terrain which are propagating far and wide. Slopes that held early season snow are especially dangerous since the old snow became weak, faceted and sugary. With 1-2 feet of new snow this week it’s difficult to tell which slope is unstable and which is not.

The battle for spring

Winter and spring are in full battle mode. In the valleys spring has the upper hand and any snow that falls is short lived. Life is being breathed into dormant tulips in my front yard. In the mountains, winter still reigns king, although his days are numbered...

Spring=Snow

Just when I started to think about climbing and biking, the snow starts to fall. Again. Although town is dry and my tulips are poking out of the ground, it's full blown winter in the mountains.

]Report From The Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Center’s Doug Chabot

Yesterday, winter officially ended with the Equinox. Saying good-bye to an old, reliable friend is difficult, but spring seems full of energy and ready to play. It started snowing early this morning and at 6 a.m six inches of wet, dense snow has fallen in the mountains.

Avalanche Update From Doug Chabot

Don't let the rain in the valleys fool you--there's snow in the mountains. A few inches around Bozeman and a few feet around West Yellostone and Cooke City.

Avalanche Investigation

From today's advisory: Yesterday, Mark, Eric, Karl and I joined folks from Bridger Bowl to investigate the avalanche that killed a snowboarder on the west side of the range two days ago. Although the slide was only 50 feet wide, it was a three foot thick hard slab of windblown snow that broke on a 40-45 degree slope and pulled even more slabs off its flanks...

Avalanche WARNING

The Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Center is issuing a Backcountry Avalanche Warning for the Bridger and northern Gallatin Ranges as well as the mountains outside Cooke City. Heavy snowfall since Saturday has been deposited on a weak snowpack. Strong winds at all elevations have loaded slopes further. The avalanche danger is rated HIGH on all slopes.

New Snow, Avalanches, Injury

Close to two feet of snow has fallen in the mountains since Saturday. The interface between the old and new snow has spiked the avalanche danger. We found unstable snow on Mt. Blackmore (video) and skiers in Frazier Lake triggered avalanches...

Why Does Chicago Get All The Snow?

Chicago got pummeled with 20 inches of snow, and they're pretty bummed about it. Don't they realize how cool that is? Bozeman's week long drought feels like eternity, but I'm hoping our fortunes are about to change. A strong northwest flow is building with good moisture...

Great Backcountry Conditions

The storms have finally ended. It snowed 13 days in a row in our advisory area, a pretty sweet system that dropped over 6 feet of snow outside Cooke City. I was there last Sunday and had the throttle pinned to get anywhere. The snowpack is getting stronger by the day. With high pressure settling over Montana bringing sunny skies the backcountry riding and skiing will be great.

Avalanche Investigation in Bridger’s

Yesterday, Eric, Randy Elliott (the General Manager of Bridger Bowl) and I trekked out to investigate Sunday’s avalanche below the south summit of Saddle Peak named Argentina Bowl (video) (many photos). This southeast facing, 35-40 degree slope was triggered by a skier as he traversed across the top of the bowl...

No Snow, Big Problem

In the avalanche world we know that more snow equals more avalanches. It's a no brainer. But during times like these of high pressure, the snowpack starts to get funky. Instead of getting stronger it gets weaker. The snow at the surface gets hit with lots of sun and warmth yet gets super cold at night, especially if there's clear skies...