Avalanche forecast

Flathead Range & Glacier NP

Flathead Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

Sat
Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
2 · Moderate
Below
1 · Low
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Out of date — this forecast expired 8 months ago. You’re viewing past conditions, not the current bulletin.

Highlights

Triggering an avalanche in areas of recently drifted snow remains possible. You may also trigger a large avalanche in buried weak layers. Seek out and enjoy lower-angled slopes sheltered from the wind, where you find less dense snow. 

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

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

    Thursday’s freshly formed wind slabs remain possible to trigger on exposed, wind-affected terrain. Recent winds may disguise thicker slabs that formed earlier in the week. Areas around ridgelines, convex rollovers, and slopes lacking timber are most likely to harbor drifted snow from this week's storm. 

    Textured snow and shooting cracks will highlight the areas most affected by blowing snow. Look for dune-shaped lenses and point your skis/board/machine toward softer snow. Slopes sheltered from the wind will continue to provide excellent snow quality and a greater margin for error.

    (1/9/2026) Photo: Adam Clark

    Professionals found a developing wind slab problem yesterday (Thursday). They intentionally triggered this thin soft slab on a wind-loaded slope. Slabs will increase in size and distribution as you gain elevation.

  • Persistent Slabs

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

    Triggering a Persistent Slab is possible, as structures involving multiple buried weak layers surrounding crusts. 1-3 feet of snow forms a slab on top of these weak layers. Any avalanche breaking within these interfaces could propagate much wider than expected, and possibly remotely. A recent skier-triggered avalanche in the Southern Whitefish Range involved a buried weak layer from the week of Christmas. 

    Unfortunately, determining a precise slope at which this problem occurs is difficult. Bullseye data is often available too late, after the avalanche has started. Continue to dig, test, and identify layers of concern. Let your travel pattern steer your risk management. Limit exposure to steep, open, and unsupported slopes. Maintain your safety by sticking to lower-angle, sheltered slopes that are free of terrain traps below.

    (1/7/2026)

    Riders accidentally triggered this large avalanche on Wednesday, 1/7/26. This slide failed on faceted crystals buried 1-2 feet deep. This slide was 250 feet wide and classified D2, large enough to bury or injure a human.

Avalanche Discussion

Yesterday’s (Thursday) visit to a recent skier-triggered avalanche by Josh and Rob highlights the nuances of dealing with our current snowpack. They were able to readily document the problems and provided a great video capturing the conditions. See Observation here.

Thin, lingering wind-slabs will remain a nuisance today. They will be easy to spot and straightforward to manage. I think everyone is seeking higher-quality snow in sheltered terrain, which steers us away from the denser, slabbier, wind-affected areas. Great.

The elephant in the room is the more difficult-to-locate persistent slab. There are a plethora of crusts, now buried by the past week's robust storm. Some of these crusts may be up to a meter below the snow surface. To make things more complicated, test results vary, as does the identification of the facet/crust combo. The structure that makes a slope susceptible to failure appears very isolated. We’re starting off by listing the persistent slab problem on all aspects and above 5,000 feet. This is based on widespread uncertainty about which areas harbor the buried weak layer(s). 

Combine all of this, and I will be using terrain to manage risk. 

  • Sticking to places where the slope I’m on doesn’t have a substantial terrain trap below me. 
  • Planning my route so that I don’t travel under any open, convex, or unsupported slope. 
  • And steering clear of thin spots around rocky outcrops or subtle ridges. 

As we continue to load the current snowpack, we will likely gain a better understanding of the distribution of the weak layers. Stepping out onto larger terrain is a riskier endeavor until then.

Regions covered