Avalanche forecast

East Cabinet Mountains

Idaho Panhandle Avalanche Center
View on map

Avalanche danger

Sat
Alpine
1 · Low
Treeline
1 · Low
Below
1 · Low
Open full map
Out of date — this forecast expired 5 years ago. You’re viewing past conditions, not the current bulletin.

Highlights

Generally stable snowpack conditions are present at this time. On solar aspects you will want to pay attention this weekend, if it starts getting warm and slushy move away from steep terrain or relocate to the shady side of the mountain. The deep weak layers in the snowpack are bridged over on solar aspects by a stout crust and unlikely to be triggered. 

Avalanche problems

  • Loose Wet

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1

    South, east and west aspects will see some sun today. All of these aspects have a stout crust layer at upper elevations with 1-2" of loose snow covering the crust. In steep terrain and near rocky outcropping it may warm up enough to see a little bit of loose-wet slides creeping down the hill. Yesterday we saw no real fresh activity related to this problem; but, today may be a touch warmer, and even more so on Saturday. If the surface snow at your location starts getting sloppy just avoid being in steep terrain or find some shady aspects to ride on. There is still some nice soft snow on north aspects at upper elevations.

  • Loose Dry

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1

    There is currently 4-5" of loose dry snow is resting on a pretty supportive base at upper elevations on shady aspects.  In very steep terrain you will see some manageable sloughing. This was really our only fresh avalanche activity observed yesterday. Again, easy problem to solve, just pay attention if you are skiing in "extreme" terrain as there is enough snow available to push you around and make life sporty. Make a couple of turns and get out of the way while gravity does its' work.

  • Deep Persistent Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Unlikely
    Size
    2–3

    The "persistent weak layers" have been with us for awhile now. Today on south aspects these layers are well bridged, and it is unlikely it will warm up enough to weaken that crust layer and cause a problem. On northerly aspects it has been awhile since we have seen propagation in these weak layers. In the East and West Cabinets it is unlikely you will trigger these deeper layers today. The area with the strongest chance of triggering this problem will continue to be in the Purcell Range where the thin snowpack may increase your odds of finding that weak point in the snowpack. In that range I would continue to advise caution in convex terrain that is over 35 degrees in steepness. Take the time to dig a pit and assess the stability before tackling big terrain in the Purcells. 

Avalanche Discussion

The weather forecast looks pretty spring-like and awesome for the next week. Clear sunny days and cold nights should set us up for some pretty fun conditions and generally stable snow. Right now the surface on solar aspects is really firm, as the days get progressively warmer the surface condtions should soften up a bit and make for pretty good riding and turning. The key is to keep an eye on the weather, if the temperatures fail to drop back below freezing at night we could see deeper issues in the snowpack wake up a bit and produce some larger avalanches.  With our current weather forecast that is unlikely to happen this weekend.

Regions covered