Avalanche forecast

Flathead Range & Glacier NP

Flathead Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

Wed
Alpine
3 · Considerable
Treeline
2 · Moderate
Below
2 · Moderate
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Out of date — this forecast expired last year. You’re viewing past conditions, not the current bulletin.

Highlights

Complex, dangerous avalanche conditions exist, with hazards that very by elevation. Near ridgelines, you're likely to trigger slabs of freshly drifted snow. Avoid traveling below steep start zones where you see blowing snow. Above about 6000 feet, you can trigger large, destructive avalanches that release on deeply buried weak layers. At low elevations, steep slopes with saturated snow remain prone to triggering by a person or snowmachine.

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Likely
    Size
    1.5–2.5

    Slabs of drifted snow pose the primary hazard on steep, upper elevation slopes. With more snow and gusty winds forecast for today, these slabs will continue to form and grow. Avoid traveling below steep start zones near ridges where you see blowing snow. Slopes on the lee sides of ridges will have the largest, thickest slabs. Gullies and chutes may also be cross-loaded. While this hazard is less widespread at mid elevations, be alert for dunes and drifts of wind-blown snow. The debris from triggered slabs can release much larger, more dangerous slides that break on deeply buried weak layers. 

    (2/24/2025)

    Avoid traveling below steep start zones where you see active wind loading today. 

    Rescue Creek, 2/24/25

    Photo: Mark Dundas

  • Persistent Slabs

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

    The potential for triggering avalanches that break on deeply buried weak layers lingers on steep mid- and upper elevation slopes. The deep crowns of some slides from the past few days demonstrates that these layers remain weak and capable of propagating with sufficient load. Slopes that haven't avalanched may be sensitive to the weight of a person or snowmachine, even from below or from connected slopes. Judicious routefinding is required to avoid this hazard. Retreat to avalanche-roof terrain if you experience whumpfing collapses; slides that release on these layers can break surprisingly wide and connect across terrain features. 

    (2/24/2025) Crowns from recent avalanches on the popular sub-Shields (6996) in southern Glacier National Park. On the looker's left, the crowns are shallower. On the right, there's a deeper crown at the top of the big, east-facing run.  Photo: Adam Clark

  • Loose Wet

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1.5–2.5

    Triggering wet snow avalanches remains possible on steep slopes below about 5000 feet, where a rain-soaked snowpack is slowly draining and refreezing. Avoid sidehilling steep gully walls if you or your snowmachine are sinking more than a few inches into soft, wet snow. The dense, heavy debris involved in these slides is difficult to escape and can result in deep burials on short slopes. This hazard exists on isolated slopes above about 5000 feet. 

    (2/24/2025)

    Debris pile on side of Stryker Trail, 2/24.

Avalanche Discussion

To keep it simple today, I'll note that conditions are anything but simple. In the past three days, we've seen heavy snowfall, powerful winds, direct sun, fluctuating freezing levels, and a remarkably widespread avalanche cycle that involved all manner of slides. Hard slabs, soft slabs, wet loose slides, slides involving surface snow, slides breaking deep in the snowpack, and new glide cracks have all been reported from across the region (Stryker, Condon, Stevens Canyon, Glacier National Park, the Flathead Range, and west of Choteau). We're left with a patchwork of avalanche hazards that is very slope specific and depends in part on whether and how the slope may have already avalanched. And whether it's already reloading with drifted or new snow. Be prepared for darn near anything, and then for something different on the next slope. 

In general, the nature of the hazard will depend on elevation, with wind-drifted snow posing more of a threat as you climb higher. At mid and upper elevations, its's not clear yet whether the storm and avalanche cycle has crushed and/ or  flushed deeply buried weak layers of facets and surface hoar that developed in Janauary. For now, I'd treat any steep slope that hasn't avalanched with suspicion. Particularly windward and southerly slopes, where the storm snow may have shed before overloading these layers. Below about 5000 feet, wet snow poses the primary hazard. While natural avalanches are unlikely, the snow remains saturated enough for a person or snowmachine to trigger slides. These can be particularly dangerous above terrain traps. 

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