24 hour new snow totals as of 0600 range from 2-3" in John F. Stevens Canyon, 4'' at WMR, 7" at Stahl Peak with Noisy Basin in the Swan Range receiving the lions share of this storm with 11" of snow and 1.2" of snow water equivalent. This new snow is falling on a variety of surfaces including surface hoar, facets and sun crusts. Near ridgelines, light winds with moderate gusts are drifting this snow onto leeward aspects and forming fresh wind slabs. Snow and wind throughout today, tonight and tomorrow will continue to redistribute this snow and add thickness to these fresh wind slabs. Evaluate all wind loaded terrain today before committing to a slope. Look for smooth rounded pillows on leeward sides of ridges and cross loaded terrain features. Obvious signs of instability will be cracking, whumphing and hollow sounds. In areas favored by this storm dry loose avalanches on steep terrain will be possible especially on sunny aspects.  

Before heading out in the backcountry it is important to check your gear that has been stored all summer. Look for any damage to shovels and probes that you neglected to repair/replace in the warm weather. Dont forget the fresh batteries for your beacon and practice using it with your partner. Finally, start to think snow/snowpack. A great way to dust off the cob webs is to join us for one of our upcoming avalanche awareness presentations. See upcoming events here.

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Join the Friends of the Flathead Avalanche Center (FOFAC) and The Patrol Fund for a fundraiser for avalanche education. It's an 80s-themed party with a costume contest, raffle prizes (including skis), and a ton of fun.

Doors open at 8:00 pm.

On Wednesday skiers in Noisy Basin reported moderate winds that were forming 5-10" thick wind slabs on ridgelines. Just below the ridgelines cracking was observed but the slabs were less cohesive. On Tuesday one of these skiers noted a thin layer of facets just above a ice mass 20 cm from the ground. Partial propagation occurred in his ECT on this weak layer.

Mark visited the backcountry outside of the WMR resort on Tuesday. All aspects above 5500' had both a thin layer of surface hoar on the snow surface and a ice mass forming the basal snowpack. Sunny aspects had a thin sun crust just below the surface which failed easily in stability tests. No wind slabs were encountered on this relatively sheltered tour.

Skiers on Saturday ventured outside of our advisory area to Many Glacier on the east side of Glacier Park. They reported little to no snow below 5500 feet with generally 2-4 feet above that. Winds were moderate to strong throughout their tour with many slopes becoming scoured. Most wind slabs that they encountered were stubborn and unreactive but they did note one small slab avalanche.