Flathead Range & Glacier NP

Your best options for low-stress, fun riding today remain slopes sheltered from the wind and less than 35 degrees. In this terrain, the weight of a person or snowmachine is less likely to release slabs 15 to 30 inches thick that break on weak, faceted snow, or recently-formed slabs of drifted snow. Patience is definitely a virtue in these conditions; the weather pattern is not promoting a quick stabilization of the unusually weak snow structure widespread through the forecast region.

Since the late November storm, the region has seen limited snowfall, continued cold temperatures, and slow settlement of snowpack. Those trends don't promote quick strengthening of the weak facets buried 15 to 30 inches below the snow surface. Smaller scale data supports this conclusion. Nearly all of this season's observations describe whumpfing collapses or other signs of instability. In fact, a party east of WMR reported an Extended Column Test failing on isolation Thursday, three days since the last loading event. 

Meanwhile, the most accessible, low-angle terrain is seeing lots of traffic, the human appetite for the new and fresh remains steady, and steep slopes are tantalizingly untracked. So we humans feel more pressure to venture into terrain where we're more likely to trigger slides. Compounding that pressure is the unfamiliarity of these conditions. Surely things are stable by now?

They're not. Or at least, many slopes steeper than 35 degrees are not. And it's nearly impossible to tell which slope fits in the "rare exception" bin. The only way to reliably reduce our risk in the backcountry right now is by diligently sticking to slopes less than 35 degrees that aren't above terrain traps. That reduces our chances of being surprised, as well as the potential consequences of surprises. It's easy to misjudge slope steepness, particularly on slopes we've ridden regularly. So own your inner geek, bust out an inclinometer, and measure slope steepness. Buy a round for the person in your group whose estimates are most accurate. 

In contrast, the wind slabs that formed early this week are steadily stabilizing. Winds have diminished from Tuesday's spike, when most wind transport occurred. These slabs are most widespread at upper elevations; at mid elevations, I expect they're isolated to the most wind-exposed terrain. These slabs are 1 to 2 feet thick and can have exaggerated consequences if releases step down to the mid-November facets buried deeper in the snowpack. Give them a wide berth; they won't make for great riding anyway.

Education - Our next Avalanche Awareness presentations are Tuesday, December 13, at Whistling Andy Distillery, Bigfork, and on Wednesday, December 14, at Penco Power Products, Kalispell. You can get more details about these free events on our events calendar.

Observations - Thanks to everyone who's been utilizing our new observation submission page. Try it out and help your community by sharing what you see in the backcountry. The form requires you to fill out the location fields and put a dot on a map. Be as specific or vague as you want. Our new Observation View page highlights signs of instability and allows you to filter by date or zone to pull out reports relevant to your objectives.