Avalanche forecast

Flathead Range & Glacier NP

Flathead Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

Mon
Alpine
1 · Low
Treeline
1 · Low
Below
1 · Low
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Highlights

Enjoy the mild temperatures, good views, and generally stable snowpack responsibly. Choose slopes uniform in snow depth and free of rollovers or convexities. Steer around small pockets of wind-drifted snow, which could ruin your day. Continue practicing safe travel techniques of exposing only one group member at a time.

Avalanche problems

  • Persistent Slabs

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

    On Friday, a rider reported a collapse on a mid-elevation slope in the southern Whitefish Range. This proves we are not out of the woods with our Persistent Slab problem. Triggering a layer near the bottom of the snowpack would likely result in an unsurvivable avalanche. Continue to choose terrain with the least likely chance of starting a slide - planar slopes free of convexities and areas with a deep uniform snowpack without exposed rocks. When in doubt, scale your slope angles back to a lesser angle.

    (1/1/2023)

    A Propagation Saw Test in a snowpit at 5700' failed 45/100. This test score is an unstable result, with the block failing on a layer of facets formed in November near the base of the snowpack.

    Photo: Mark Dundas

Avalanche Discussion

Today is the fifth consecutive day of LOW danger at all elevation bands. Depending on how you look at it, this is either pretty good or bad. Regardless, these are unusual avalanche conditions for early January. One observer compared instability in our snowpack to open parking spaces in a popular lot at WMR, "Harder to find than a parking spot in Larch lot." It has been a week since our area's last measurable snow, resulting in these stagnant avalanche conditions.

We received 9 public observations Saturday. Thank you! Sustained sunshine warmed sunny slopes at all elevation bands for the first time since the Atmospheric River impacted us over the holidays. Observers reported rollerballs developing around noon, with a rider on Big Slide in the southern Whitefish Range noting a waterfall of rollerballs and pinwheels with sticky snow below 4000 feet. I was in southern Glacier Park, where I viewed heavily rimed trees warming and shedding their winter coat with ice chunks trundling down the hill. However, we did not receive any reports of rollerballs triggering Loose Wet slides. Sarah, Meg, and Woody taught an avalanche class to our local Search and Rescue teams in Kimmerly Basin, where they observed riders triggering small, harmless, Loose Dry sluffs in very steep terrain. 

This morning, expect to find a thin melt-freeze crust on aspects warmed by Saturday's sunshine. I found moist snow up to 7500' in areas protected from the wind. An observer noted that Saturday's wind kept the snow surface cool on an upper-elevation westerly aspect, so at least we have that going for us. Loose-dry faceted snow can still be found in areas sheltered by wind and sun. In windward terrain, you may encounter fields of rime from the recent fog and cloud deck that has recently socked in the upper elevations. I was impressed by how widespread and well-developed the layer of rime was on Elk Mountain.  

Saturday's observations from the alpine noted little to no wind transport of snow. In most locations, wind speeds were just below the threshold needed to drift snow, with snow available for transport decreasing due to warming temperatures, rime, and previous wind. However, an experienced rider backed off his party's steep objective after encountering knee-deep drifted snow at 5800'. Continue to check out slopes for pockets of wind slab before committing. 

Despite another day of "green light" conditions, we recommend following safe travel protocols of just one person on a slope at a time while the remainder of the group watches this individual. This is a good habit of continuing to practice so that these actions become routine. 

Education: We are pairing our final Avalanche Awareness talk of the season with 2023's first State of the Snowpack. Ted Steiner, FOFAC Board President and longtime avalanche worker, will host this fantastic evening of avalanche education. This will be held at FORLOH in Whitefish on Tuesday, January 10. Get more details here.

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