Avalanche Forecast
Regions: Flathead, Lizard, Lizard-Flathead.
Assess for wind slab before committing to steep lines in the alpine.
Westerly wind may have formed small, isolated wind slabs at higher elevations.
Confidence
Moderate
Avalanche Summary
On Tuesday, a skier-triggered size 1 wind slab avalanche was reported. The avalanche was 15 to 20 cm deep and occurred in a steep north-facing couloir. See MIN for details.
A few natural wind slab avalanches were also reported. These avalanches were on southeast aspects in the alpine and up to size 1.5.
If you head out in the backcountry, let us know what you are seeing by submitting a MIN report.
Snowpack Summary
Westerly winds may have formed small pockets of wind slab in the alpine.
Unconsolidated snow can still be found in sheltered areas. Below this is 30 to 50 cm of settling snow.
The mid and lower snowpack is generally well-settled.
Snow depths at treeline range from 140 to 220 cm.
Weather Summary
Wednesday Night
Mostly cloudy. 20 to 40 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -10 °C.
Thursday
Mostly cloudy. 20 to 40 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -8 °C.
Friday
Cloudy with up to 5 cm of snow. 30 to 60 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -5 °C
Saturday
Mix of sun and cloud with trace amounts of snow possible. 10 to 25 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -7 °C.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
Terrain and Travel Advice
- Avoid freshly wind-loaded features, especially near ridge crests, rollovers, and in steep terrain.
- Seek out sheltered terrain where new snow hasn't been affected by wind.
Avalanche Problems
Wind Slabs
Isolated wind slabs may be found near ridge crests in the alpine.
Aspects: North, North East, East, South East, South.
Elevations: Alpine.
Likelihood: Unlikely - Possible
Expected Size: 1 - 1.5