Quick report
I did not find any weak snow or reactive snowpit test results today. I dug one full pit on a north facing slope adjacent to the 2024 fatality and did multiple test pits on east and west aspects.
Overall, the snowpack is stronger than expected with rounding in the buried January near surface facets. Even with 30+ taps and large impact boot stomps, I could not get initiate a propagating failure at the interface of the January facets/ February snow. The weakest snow is on east aspects with a crust/facet layer underneath February snow, but no propagation was observed.
Ski tracks exist in just about every start zone with no avalanches triggered.
We are hitting the point where not enough snow exists at low elevation for avalanches and this elevation band could be dropped from the problem in the southern Bitterroot.
No signs of instability.Weather
- Air Temp
- 32-35
- Cloud Cover
- clear
- Wind Loading
- none
- Rain Elevation
- n/app
- Recent Snowfall
- 0
- Snow Avail For Transport
- small smounts
Beautiful warm spring day, minimal wind. Cold start in the AM but rapidly warming up in the sun by noon.