Avalanche forecast

Silver Valley & Bitterroot Mountains

Idaho Panhandle Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

Wed
Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
1 · Low
Below
1 · Low
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Out of date — this forecast expired 3 years ago. You’re viewing past conditions, not the current bulletin.

Highlights

New snow that arrived with moderate-strong winds will make it possible to trigger a wind slab on North West through North East facing aspects. Directly below ridge lines at upper and mid elevations and in steep cross loaded terrain features will be the most likely spot to find this type of avalanche. Seek wind protected slopes to avoid this hazard. 

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

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

    The most recent storm delivered around 6" of snow since Saturday evening and arrived with moderate-strong winds predominately from the South East through the South West. With new snow and already existing low-density snow available to be transported, it is possible to encounter wind slabs at mid and upper elevations. Below ridge lines and cross loaded steep terrain features will likely be harboring these wind slabs. On Monday as we travelled around ridege lines we experienced cracking underneath our skis and could see snow that had been textured by the wind. 

    Wind slab triggered from above on a North East facing ridge line.

    Photo: Izzy Davis

Avalanche Discussion

Yesterday we toured from the valley bottom to the higher elevations of Tiger peak. This provided good overview of differing conditions through the elevation bands. In general, below 5000’ snowpack heights are shallow with unburied ground hazards. More favorable riding conditions were found the higher we asended. The middle elevation band has on average 4 ft of snow and the higher elevations hold 5 - 6 ft. A widespread hard rain crust, buried Feb. 3rd and currently acting as a bridge over the mid and lower snowpack, can be found 1 - 2 ft down from the snow surface. Current instabilities in new snow and wind affect are found in the upper snowpack.

Recent lower density snowfall Sunday and Monday has added up making fun riding quality right now. On middle and high elevation open ridgetops, winds have redistributed recent storm snow into triggerable cohesive slabs in specific northerly steep slopes. We found such a slope yesterday providing us feedback on propagation and the characteristics of terrain areas we’d want to avoid. Many terrain options exist while avoiding the current avalanche problem; do not let the hunt for fun riding unintentionally lead you into triggerable pockets.

Regions covered