Flathead Factor!

Looks like the "Fernie Factor" extended into the Flathead today with greater that forecasted snow amounts. It snowed up to 5 cm per hour at times when we were in the field today! We found 45-50 cm of low density snow from the past two days. We didn't have great visibility in to the alpine, but could see evidence of a loose dry avalanche cycle. With all the new snow, and moderate west winds up high, we suspected that cornices were growing and slabs might be forming in exposed lee terrain.