Boletín de aludes

Flathead Range & Glacier NP

Flathead Avalanche Center
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Peligro de aludes

Tue
Alta montaña
2 · Moderado
Límite del bosque
1 · Débil
Bajo el límite
1 · Débil
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Desactualizado: este boletín caducó 3 years ago. Estás viendo condiciones pasadas, no el boletín vigente.

Lo esencial

In steep, upper-elevation terrain, be wary of sluffs of loose, dry snow. They can ruin your holiday week if they knock you off your feet or machine and dump you into a terrain trap. You can find great riding on slopes above about 6000 feet with runouts free of these consequences. 

Problemas de aludes

  • Loose Dry

    • Alta montaña
    • Límite del bosque
    • Bajo el límite del bosque
    Probabilidad
    Possible
    Tamaño
    1–2

    You're likely to trigger sluffs of dry, loose snow in steep terrain. Most will be small and harmless. However, on slopes with more than about 8 inches of loose, dry snow, triggered sluffs might entrain enough snow to be consequential. The most dangerous terrain will be confined chutes with continuously steep pitches above terrain traps.

    (12/24/2023)

    Natural sluffs below cliffs in northern Whitefish Range.

    Photo: blase reardon

Avalanche Discussion

'Twas the night before Christmas, when  all through the town

Few riders were riding; not much snow on the ground

New machines sat on trailers gathering dust

Favorite boards hung unused, edges gathering rust

The bros were stuck posting memes on the Instagram

"Yo; gotta chase my dreams; bouncing to Japan!"

And 'mama in her tights and me sitting on my ass

had just resigned ourselves to another zumba class

When midway down Moementum arose such a clatter

A dozen more riders also learning those little staubs matter.......

***************************

It's easy to see a grim picture out there. Saint Nick has definitely not delivered the storms and powder we put at the top of or wish-lists for the winter. A lotta people been naughty. 

He has, however, been jolly enough to toss a few stocking stuffers our way. A storm late last week was one. Up to 10 inches of snow accumulated across the region, accompanied by light to moderate winds. Favored areas included the northern Whitefish Range, the Jewel Basin area, and the Flathead Range. Observers in these spots have reported great riding conditions. Sunday's sun may have left south-facing slopes with a surface crust. The southern Whitefish and Apgar Ranges only got a few lumps of coal.

The past two days, sluffs of cohesionless snow have been the primary hazard. These are running in the recent snow, or on a friable melt-freeze crust below that. The recent snow is already faceting, exacerbating the problem. This danger is isolated to very steep slopes where even small slides can have outsized consequences.

Along with the snowfall, weather stations recorded light winds but some strong gusts. While we expected some wind slabs to form, few people have reported wind-affected snow, even in terrain that typically collects drifted snow. Sunday, I checked for - and didn't find - cohesive slabs of drifted snow before I committed to a steep chute. I'd continue that practice today if I were near a summit or ridge crest.

Another plus side to the otherwise discouraging weather pattern: early season weak layers have gone dormant. The isolated exceptions will be in terrain high enough that early December warming and rain didn't leave a stout melt-freeze crust a few feet below the snow surface. That's generally above 7500 or even 8000 feet. If you travel there, do some digging and look for active persistent weak layers. 

Uphill travel at Whitefish Mountain Resort is paused for Holiday Week and possibly longer

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