According to the Gallatin and Flathead avalanche centers, recent avalanche danger has been reported as high at upper elevations and considerable everywhere else.

Over the last couple of weeks, the storm cycle has really picked up, followed by the avalanche cycle. Several feet of new snow have fallen in the mountains as storms have paraded across Montana. Prior to that, much of November was dry and mild.

All of this new snow fell on top of an old layer of snow from a big October storm. For weeks, that snow layer sat, becoming an unstable layer for all of this new snow. Recent avalanches have mainly broken down to this early-season weak layer.

Avalanches several feet deep have occurred naturally and have been triggered by human activity. On December 1, a skier was caught and carried by a

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