The St. Regis / Silver Valley and Selkirk / Cabinet Zones have seen significant amounts of snow over the past 7 days. All this new snow is trending in the direction of becoming more stable, but we’re not out of the woods yet. Dry Loose and Storm Slab avalanches are still a possibility. Evaluate terrain carefully and identify areas of concern. Human triggered avalanches are possible in specific or isolated areas. Bundle up, it's going to be a cold one today!
Storm slabs did form over the past 7 days. Storm slabs will be most likely found at higher elevations, near ridges and in areas with signs of wind loading. Storm slabs, unlike Loose snow avalanches can propagate and create larger avalanches.
It's going to take a little longer for the loose dry snow to settle due to the cold temperatures. In most places the snowpack is still soft and susceptible to loose snow avalanches, especially in terrain over 35 degrees.
The major storm system that hit the Panhandle finally moved out on Sunday and was quickly followed up with a more stable atmosphere and colder temperatures. It looks like this weather pattern will stick around into the New Year. The snow from the storm system that came through last week makes up most of our snowpack bringing it to 4-6’ deep.
This snowpack is a little unusual for this time of year. It is made up of mostly soft snow that’s fallen in the past 3 weeks. So for this season, we’re lacking some of the usual problematic layers, but have replaced them with other potential problems (see ‘Problems’ section above). The cold temperatures forecasted for the next couple days will slow down the settling process of the snowpack, so we may see light fluffy unconsolidated snow conditions stick around for a while.
**Even though avalanche safety is IPAC’s primary focus, we need to pause to talk about the dangers of snow immersion accidents. A deep snow or tree well immersion accident occurs when a skier or rider falls into an area of deep, unconsolidated snow and becomes immobilized. Keep cell phones and whistles close when skiing and riding in deep, unconsolidated snow. Also, keep an eye on each other. Stay safe everyone!
**Our thoughts and condolences go out to all the family, friends and community affected by Sunday’s tragic snow immersion accident.
**Thank you for all of the great observations on the website. Great information! I especially thank Micah Krmpotich, a Guide for Selkirk Powder Guides, for all the great info you've submitted.
