Flathead Range & Glacier NP

Recent benign weather has resulted in a generally stable snowpack. On isolated, steep, northerly slopes, you could still trigger a thin, loose slide that may knock you off your feet or encounter a small slab of wind-drifted snow reactive to your weight. Snow returns overnight into Friday with an increasing hazard. 

Due to the recent weather and snowpack conditions, we are not listing any avalanche problems today. This is unusual, especially for early February. A summary of the impact of the past few days on the snowpack is listed below.

Tuesday and Wednesday's dry, sunny weather initiated small, wet loose avalanches on solar aspects in the snowfall from earlier in the week and over the weekend (Observation 1, Observation 2). This melting formed a crust on many sunny aspects (Observation). Today's cloudy and cooler conditions will limit the crust's ability to break down and shut down any potential for wet loose slides.

On shaded slopes, thin, dry loose slides occurred naturally and were triggered by riders over the past few days (Observation 1, Observation 2). There remains a chance that you could trigger a small sluff in steep, northerly terrain. These should be easy to manage but could become a problem in technical terrain if a rider is knocked off their machine or boards. 

Shifting winds earlier in the week initially transported the new snow into thin slabs on various aspects. The winds have quieted down the past 48 hours, and we feel slabs have gained strength and are generally unreactive to triggering by a rider. Look for signs of wind-affected snow at upper elevations, such as dunes or drifts beneath ridgelines and in gullies. Cracking in this snow indicates instability, directing you to sheltered or lower-angle terrain. 

Snow will develop later today and into Friday. We expect several inches at all mountain locations, with the Swan Range favored. The avalanche danger will rise overnight, with new snow avalanche problems such as wind slabs and dry loose returning tomorrow.

Although the riding conditions are less than ideal in the Flathead, at least we are not dealing with a nasty persistent slab problem that southwest Montana and the Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Center have. The lower half of their snowpack is faceted (sugar) snow. It has been reactive to nearly every load placed onto it by small storms, resulting in a multi-day elevated avalanche hazard.

Upcoming event: Flathead Avalanche Friends Fest, February 21-24. Beacons & Brews, Name That Tune/Name That Avalanche, Workshop Night, Hot Dog Days, and Ultimate Après.  Check out 4 days of events: flatheadavalanche.org/event/friendsfest