Avalanche forecast

Selkirk Mountains

Idaho Panhandle Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

Sun
Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
1 · Low
Below
1 · Low
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Highlights

 Temperatures will continue to rise today, effecting the lower elevation snowpack. The warm up, especially on south facing slopes, will increasing the avalanche danger, throughout the day. On your approach, from the trailhead today, look for pinwheeling and rollerballs as a sign of sun effect. Above treeline expect to find wind-slabs and wind effected snow.  It’s best to steer around fresh slabs or wind drifted snow in steep terrain, especially near terrain features such as gullies or rock out cropping’s. 

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1–2

    You can avoid uncertainty associated with wind-slab avalanche potential by managing your slope angle. Stay away from obvious pillows, drifts and slopes with overhanging cornices. Look and feel the snow under foot for wind features and thick wind-slabs. Good visibility yesterday made it easy to see these wind effected areas from a long ways away. You could even use your probe or ski pole to feel for thick wind slabs. The wind-slab problem should be easy to investigate, since it's primarily in the top 2 feet of the snowpack. Shooting cracks, isolated cracking and ripples across the snow are  good indicators of wind effected snow.  The best snow for snowmobiling and skiing in the trees around the 4000 ft band.

    (2/9/2023)

    Above Quartz Creek, Cabinet Mountains

    5,500 ft, NW face

  • Persistent Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1–2

    Within the upper 3' of the snowpack we have multiple persistent weak layers (PWL) present. We are seeing facet growth above and below these layers that likely developed during our last arctic cold front (January 28th through the 31st). The sensitivity of these weak layers varies widely with aspect and elevation, but overall  the PWL's are sitting dormant. Stability tests performed yesterday provided minimal results. Current temperature gradients in the snowpack will continue to trend towards a stronger state, but it will take time to fully heal. Triggering an avalanche on these weak layers is a "low likelihood-high consequence" scenario, your potential to trigger one of these weak layers will be highest in steep and open terrain with convex roll-overs. The 2 strongest crusts within the snowpack (1/13 Friday crust and Christmas crust) are adding stability and acting as a bridge over other deeper persistant weak layers.

  • Loose Wet

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Unlikely
    Size
    1–2

    The snowpack is starting to warm up at lower elevations.  In the last couple days we've started to see signs of Spring. I'm not ready to write about the melting snowpack, but here we are! We've noticed bare patches under trees, pine neddles and other debris collecting on the snow surface and a melt/freeze crust that comes and goes with the diurnal temperature swings. I hope this isn't the beginning of the end for our low elevation snowpack, but it sure feels like it's starting. I don't anticipate an overly active wet-loose avalanche problem today, but it's time to start considering the possibility. If the sun does peek out today, it may kiss the slope enough to see the effect on the snow's surface. As you're snowmobiling or skiing up from the trailhead today, look for signs of sun effect. South facing slopes will see the change first.

Avalanche Discussion

Need some education to go along with your avalanche gear? Check out the IPAC website for a listing of classes. We still have some avalibility for classes!

https://www.idahopanhandleavalanche.org/education

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