Quick report
Solid day of spring touring in the Flathead Range. • Toured to the Flathead Crest up the east fork of Tunnel Creek, utilizing the Pinnacle Road for access. • Snow coverage was patchy on the road below about 4200', with continuous cover above that elevation. • Friday was relatively cool for the later half of April. Temps stayed below freezing all day above 6000', helping to preserve soft dry snow on shaded slopes. • West facing slopes of the Flathead Crest were still holding dry snow mid afternoon, and strong blustery west winds readily transported snow off the highest peaks. • We skied two runs during our tour. East-North facing off Mount Liebig and a long north facing run off an unnamed peak to the NE of Liebig. We skied slopes up to 45º-50º without any signs of instability other than a bit of dry slough management. • East facing slopes off the summit of Liebig were variable and wind affected, however north facing terrain held excellent boot top powder snow. protected upper elevations measured about 20cm of recent snow. • We were delighted to find enjoyable dry snow persevering on northerlies late in the afternoon. The snow stayed dry and powdery down to about 5000'. elevation. • All other aspects were sufficiently wetted during the clear, sunny day. However wet snow avalanche activity was unremarkable and subdued by the strong overnight freeze and relatively cool air temps up high.