Quick report
No instability noted.
Weather
- Air Temp
- Mid 20s
- Cloud Cover
- overcast
- Wind Loading
- light
- Rain Elevation
- n/app
- Recent Snowfall
- 1 inch at trailhead, 4-6 inches in upper elevation terrain
- Snow Avail For Transport
- small smounts
Light snow through the day with periods of S2 snowfall. Steady moderate NW wind at upper elevation. Periods of moderate wind at low elevation but minimal snow availble for transport down low.
Snowpack
The primary concern is wind transport of new snow. 4-6 inches of new snow is being blown onto east aspects by the steady NW wind. This new slab is forming on top of unreactive old wind slab with no weak layer at the interface. Some drifts were over 12 inches deep, but these areas are isolated and the new slab is on average 6-8 inches deep.
We looked for persistent weak layers that have caused recent avalanching just to the north in the Flathead, but we did not find any. What we did find is old snowmobile tracks top to bottom in the snowpack in every area we dug today. I suspect the amount of traffic in the area we travelled broke up and disrupted any weak layers that otherwise might have been buried in the snowpack.
Overall, we found a rightside up and primarily rounded snowpack with the only issue being the current wind loading.