Lawinenlagebericht

Flathead Range & Glacier NP

Flathead Avalanche Center
Auf der Karte ansehen

Lawinengefahr

Fri
Hochgebirge
2 · Mässig
Waldgrenze
1 · Gering
Unterhalb
1 · Gering
Open full map
Veraltet — dieser Lagebericht ist 7 months ago abgelaufen. Du siehst vergangene Verhältnisse, nicht den aktuellen Bericht.

Kernpunkte

New snow and wind will form fresh drifts along ridge crests and on the sidewalls of gullies. Slabs of drifted snow should be relatively small, but could move fast and far due to a slick crust beneath. Utilize small and inconsequential slopes to test the sensitivity of new snow before committing to bigger terrain features.

Snow totals vary within forecast zones. Expect LOW danger if snow totals don't verify today, or if you are traveling in an area that only received a dusting of snow.

Lawinenprobleme

  • Wind Slabs

    • Hochgebirge
    • Waldgrenze
    • Unterhalb der Waldgrenze
    Wahrscheinlichkeit
    Possible
    Größe
    1–1.5

    A welcome shot of new snow, combined with wind, will form fresh slabs on the downwind side of terrain features. Slabs will grow in size as you climb in elevation. Blowing snow signals that wind slabs are actively forming, while cracking around your board or machine is a sign you've found the problem. I don’t expect slabs to be large enough to bury a person on their own, but they may become large enough to knock you over. Assess the consequences of the terrain you want to ride before you commit to the slope.

    Soft slabs of wind-drifted snow may be more sensitive than usual due to the weak sugary snow they rest on. Slabs may be triggered remotely and wrap around terrain features. 

    (1/25/2026)

    Old wind loading on the Nyack ridgeline. This will be where you could trigger a slab of drifted snow today. 

    Photo: Chris Craft

Avalanche Discussion

Watching snow fall from the sky yesterday brought me back to a childlike feeling of seeing the first snow of the year. The problem is that it is almost February. If we get lucky today, 1 to 3 more inches may fall. “Dust on crust” conditions will be a common theme today. 

For you storm chasers out there, Noisy Basin in the Swan Range and Stryker in the Whitefish Range grabbed the most snow (a whopping 3 to 4 inches) in the past 24 hours. I imagine some locations in the Flathead Range picked up similar snow totals despite Tunnel Ridge only showing an inch. The Swan Range is favored today, with another 1 to 3 inches, while the Whitefish and Flathead ranges are showing a trace to 2 inches. If you choose your locations right, maybe you’ll be riding on 6 inches of new snow with deeper pockets in wind-drifted areas. That said, those wind-drifted pockets are the most likely place you’ll find trouble today.

A thin layer of snow above a smooth surface crust sat around for weeks and became very weak before snow fell on it yesterday. Winds are at thresholds to transport freshly fallen snow into sensitive slabs. If snowfall continues today, I expect to hear reports of human-triggered avalanches in areas favored by precipitation. Thankfully, even if we see the upper end of snow totals, I don’t expect avalanches to be large enough to bury a person. The exception would be if you are caught in a terrain trap, such as a roadcut or bench, where snow can pile up deep. 

Expect sluffing in terrain sheltered from the wind. Travel in a way that allows your sluff to run next to you, not over you. 

You will notice we removed the persistent slab avalanche problem. Widespread surface crusts, a faceting (weakening) upper snowpack, and no signs of instability over two weeks gave us enough confidence to write the problem off for now. Your main issue moving forward is new or recent snow above the uppermost crust.

Abgedeckte Regionen