Moose Creek

Dry snow:

The primary persistent slab problem in the Bitterroot is a melt-freeze crust/ facet combination buried mid snowpack. It comprises a 1 cm thick layer of 1mm facets directly above the crust. On extended column tests, we saw full propagation in the mid teen (taps from the elbow).

People are stepping into avalanche terrain with no human triggered avalanches on this layer.  It is uncertain if this layer will become more reactive as the slab above it becomes more cohesive.

There are still some lingering rounding facets near the ground on slopes that did not slide during the late January/early February avalanche cycle in the southern Bitterroot.

Wet snow:

By afternoon, the new snow from the previous 36 hours had begun transitioning from damp to wet on solar aspects. There was a widespread rollerball cycle at mid and low elevation by 1430, but only small point releases, not entraining anything more than the top 2 inches of snow.