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Slabs R Us
Location Name:
Flathead Range
Observation date:
Thursday, February 27, 2020 - 16:15
Is this an Avalanche Observation:
No
Observation made by:
Public
Location
Tabs
Quick Observation
The Middle Fork has excellent coverage, so back we went.
Wednesday's winds mixed down to mid and low elevations transforming the 10" of recent low-density snow into hard (Pencil) and soft (1F) slabs up to 6" thick. Hard slabs seemed to be limited to SE aspects with soft slabs on all other aspects. We searched for soft snow, but only found a case of beer size areas of powder to our high point of 5600'.
Cracking underfoot was common but no shooting cracks observed. Numerous hand pits revealed easy failure at the slab/powder interface ~ 6" beneath the surface.
Overcast skies and breezy conditions eliminated Loose Wet from today's problem list in exposed terrain. On the exit, in the warm humid old-growth forest, moist snow allowed for easy triggering of rollerballs with ski cuts.
Wednesday's warming produced numerous natural rollerballs on Old Highway 2 and in the old-growth forest. No rollerballs or Loose Wet activity was noted in exposed terrain above 4000'.
Snowpack, Avalanche, Weather Images:
Travel Details
Region:
Flathead Range - Middle Fork Corridor
Activity:
Skiing
Snowpack Details
Snowpack and Weather Details:
Terrain
Elevation of observation:
3500-5000 ft
5000-6500 ft
Aspect(s) of observation:
N
NE
SE
S
SW
NW
Red Flags:
Blowing snow
Persistent Weak Layers:
Not observed
New Snow in the past 24 hours:
0.00in.
More comments about the snowpack and weather:
Swirling winds on the valley floor produced wind transport at low and mid-elevations. Ridgelines were obscured and we could not determine if snow transport was occurring. The snow stayed dry in exposed terrain above 4000' but became moist in sheltered locations below that.
Blowing Snow:
Light
Wind Speed:
Light (Twigs in motion)
Air temperature:
Below Freezing
Snow line:
4000'
Sky Cover:
Mostly Cloudy (BRK)
