Silver Valley & Bitterroot Mountains

Warm temperatures and rain have taken their toll on the snowpack in recent days. Good news…low avalanche danger. Bad news…it’s hard to find enough snow to recreate safely.

Yesterday Izzy and I toured up to Goose Peak from Dobson Pass. The parking area at the pass was entirely devoid of snow, so we did some “dry” sledding to reach snow covered roads. Once we strapped on skis we had to pick our route carefully to avoid destroying ourselves and equipment on exposed talus, grass, downed trees, shrubs, and stumps. On the north aspect we found roughly 12” of soft saturated snow below the ridge line, and 24” of spring like corn several hundred feet lower. The early season corn harvest was good but limited.

At 6000’ north aspect we found remnants of the November 24 surface hoar buried about one foot from surface beneath the early December rain crust. The layer has begun to break down and strengthen with the infusion of moisture, but we are still curious about it and will continue to keep an eye out for it on sheltered north aspect terrain.

The forecast calls for dropping temperatures and rain transitioning to 2” to 5” of snow at the passes this afternoon into tomorrow. The snow ought to come in “right side up”, meaning good stability will result from warm wet precipitation being overlayed by cooler and dryer snow. Sustained temperatures in the 20’s Saturday into Christmas week should help lock up the snowpack and make for a bomber base when/if we do get more accumulation.

Although it is a step in the right direction, the limited accumulation from this weekend’s weather event will not greatly improve our overall lack of winter recreation opportunities. It’s time to pray for a Christmas miracle!

We hope everyone has a great holiday week and that Santa brings you that new sled/ski/board you have been wishing for all year. If you need a last-minute gift, consider purchasing an IPAC avalanche education course for a friend or loved one, or better yet…your backcountry partner: click the Education tab in the upper right of the webpage for more information.