Avalanche forecast

Selkirk Mountains

Idaho Panhandle Avalanche Center
View on map

Avalanche danger

Sat
Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
2 · Moderate
Below
2 · Moderate
Open full map
Out of date — this forecast expired 3 years ago. You’re viewing past conditions, not the current bulletin.

Highlights

Watch for changing snow surface conditions as the day progresses and temperatures rise.  Snowpack instability will vary by aspect and elevation. Rising temperatures today will increase avalanche danger on sun affected slopes. You can manage this problem today by not travelling through or under slopes that have warmed up and present as soft and saturated. 

Avalanche problems

  • Loose Wet

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1–2

    A rise in temperature will continue today, which will soften the surface of the snowpack as the day goes on. Night time temperatures are refreezing the snowpack at night, so you may encounter a crusty surface in the morning which will soften as the day goes on.  Slopes that face the sun are the most susceptible to "wet loose" avalanches. Pinwheels, rolling snow or a saturated snow surface are all indicators of "wet loose" potential. "Wet loose" avalanches may start small, but can grow large as they move down slope and encompass more snow. The best way to manage the "wet loose" problem is to be aware of the consistency of the snow in your area and manage your aspect accordingly.

    • East facing slopes heat up first with the rising sun.
    • South faces take the most solar radiation throughout the day.
    • West faces don't see direct sunlight until later in the afternoon.
    • This time of year, north faces don't see any direct sunlight, and tend to have a colder more winter-like snowpack.

    On sunny warm days, like today is forecast to be, plan with this timeline in mind.

    (3/23) Photo: J Thompson

  • Persistent Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1–2

    Avalanche problems will vary by aspect. New snow within the last week sits on top of differing surfaces. Southerly aspects have sun affected snow on top of one or more sun crusts to act as a bed surface. Watch for changing surface conditions due to sun affect. Northerly aspects have recent colder snow sitting over varying wind affected surfaces in the upper elevations. These slabs may be found in the upper elevations and most likely to be triggered near ridge top or on convexities. Older and deeper persistent weak layers, from mid-winter, are breaking down and becoming  a non-issue. You can still find the 1/13 crust and other thin faceted layers, but they don't present as a concern at this time.

Avalanche Discussion

We've seen our fair share of cold days this winter, however there should be one thing we’re all thinking about putting in our backcountry kits. Sunscreen and Sunglasses. Thursday, Micah and Brian took the snowmobiles and headed into the Cabinet mountains. We arrived early in the morning and rode into the Trestle Creek area. We snowmobiled to an elevation of around 6000’ before we decided to tour on our skis so we could take a closer look at the snowpack. After ditching a layer at the snowmobiles, Micah led the tour beginning on a South aspect. It was noticeably warmer today with the sun on our backs. Warmer temperatures will continue as we venture into spring and will affect the snowpack starting with the surface and penetrating into the snow with radiant rays from the sun. 

Today we decided to dig a little deeper into the different aspects at higher elevations. Away from the sunlight on northern facing slopes, we are beginning to see a different story. Now that the new snowpack has had time to settle, it has gained significant total height of snow. On northern areas of steep terrain we saw minor instabilities in our test. The most significant findings were layers in the upper portion of the snowpack which proved to be resistant to failure upon testing. On the extended column test, results did not show any concern as we observed lack of propagation across the column. On the southern aspects we were getting toasty. We did a quick hasty pit and some quick tests above a slope we planned to descend.  We found minimal results, but could definitely feel the effects of the direct solar radiation. The big takeaway here is that we've had a taste of spring, which will bring some changes to the pack.  No matter where you are, start thinking about the changes you will see on different elevations and aspects as we are rounding out the days of March. The snow made for great skiing at higher elevations and got sticky pretty fast within the mid elevation treed areas.  

Shout out to Rory Whitney, Dash Kamp and the crew for taking the time to talk snow beta with us on their snowmobile/ snowboarding tour today. Thanks for being safe and knowing the conditions, Cheers. 

Regions covered