Avalanche Forecast
Lizard Range and Flathead
The best riding is in sheltered areas with low density snow, but watch for shooting cracks and whumpfing sounds as indicators of a developing persistent slab problem.
Avalanche Problem 1: Wind Slabs
What Elevation?
Which Slopes?
Chances of Avalanches?
Expected Size?
Travel and Terrain Advice
- Use ridges or ribs to avoid pockets of wind loaded snow.
- Be careful with wind loaded pockets, especially near ridge crests and roll-overs.
Avalanche Problem 2: Persistent Slabs
What Elevation?
Which Slopes?
Chances of Avalanches?
Expected Size?
A weak layer 50-80 cm below the surface has the potential to produce surprising avalanches. Triggering this layer is most likely in areas with stiffer snow on sheltered slopes. Read more about this problem in the forecasters' blog (here).
Travel and Terrain Advice
- Choose well supported terrain without convexities.
- Watch for whumpfing, hollow sounds, and shooting cracks.
- Use caution on open slopes and convex rolls at treeline where buried surface hoar may be preserved.
Avalanche Summary
Avalanche activity tapered off on Saturday following the storm, with only a few small explosive triggered avalanches reported. On Friday, a natural avalanche cycle was observed in alpine terrain with storm slabs up to size 2 (typically 20-40 cm deep).
Snowpack Summary
Cold temperatures are preserving 50 to 80 cm of fresh snow from the past week. The snow has been deposited into stiff wind slabs in exposed terrain, but remains low density in sheltered areas.
The main question in the snowpack surrounds the layer sitting beneath the new snow. The layer includes crusts on south through west facing slopes and large feathery surface hoar crystals in sheltered terrain at and below treeline. The distribution of the layer, as well as the properties of the snow above it, is highly variable. The most suspect areas are where the wind has formed a stiff slab above this layer and on slopes with preserved surface hoar.
Lower in the snowpack, you should be able to find a hard crust that was buried near the end of November. This crust is approximately 30 cm thick and extends from 1600 m up to the mountain tops.
Weather Forecast
SUNDAY: Sunny with increasing clouds and light flurries overnight, strong northwest winds, treeline temperatures around -15 C.
MONDAY: Mix of sun and cloud, light northwest winds, treeline temperatures around -18 C.
TUESDAY: Mostly sunny, moderate northwest winds, treeline temperatures around -18 C.
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Strong winds on Saturday night are expected to blow around the low density snow and form fresh wind slabs on the downwind sides of ridges and gullies.