Crust Cruisin'

Location Name: BNSF Avalanche Safety - Running Rabbit Mtn. GNP Observation date: Thursday, March 26, 2020 - 21:00	Is this an Avalanche Observation: No

Observation made by: Public

Tabs

Quick Observation

Ascended the south face of Running Rabbit Mtn. along the ridge separating the Shed 11 and Shed 10.7 avalanche paths to a high point at the Shed 11 weather station at 6400 feet.
Descended the Shed 11 path.
Objectives were to work on the Shed 11 weather station and observe the extent of any recent wind-loading.
No avalanche activity observed.
Travelled on a stout and supportable melt-freeze crust from the Hwy all the way to 6400 feet. In some wind-sheltered locations there was a trace to 2 inches of new soft snow on top of the crust.
No wind-slabs encountered and the light to moderate SW winds during the day were transporting only minimal amounts of snow above 6000 feet and none below that elevation.
No cracking, collapsing, or audible failures observed.
The snow surface was still a solid crust when we left the weather station at 1500 and remained firm till about 5000 feet where it finally softened a bit to make some turns in the corn while dodging patches of bare ground.
Mostly cloudy skies with a couple brief S-1 flurries.
A breezy day with light to moderate W-SW winds at all elevations. Wind-loading was minimal in our location but we could see that it was heavier above 7000 feet on peaks nearby such as Furlong and the Devils Hump
Afternoon highs reached the mid-30s °F on the Canyon floor and the mid-20s °F above 6000 feet.

Travel Details

Region:

Flathead Range/Glacier National Park - John F. Stevens Canyon

Activity:

Skiing