Moto Level 1 Southern Whitefish

Today we went into the southern Whitefish Range with a group of motorized users for an Avalanche Level 1 class. 

• We found a range of 6 to 12 inches of snow on top of the 1/13 crust at all elevations.
• We found a layer of buried surface hoar at varying depths depending on elevation.  
  • At low elevations on a north aspect, we found buried surface hoar and facets on top of the 1/13 crust. 
  • At roughly 6000 feet on a southwest aspect, we found buried surface hoar 6 to 8 inches below the surface. Roughly 3 to 5 inches above the 1/13 crust. 
  • In tests at both locations, this layer produced non-propagating results. 
• For an experiment, we added 4ish inches of loose snow on top of an extended column test, and boom. Propagation. It seemed clear that the missing ingredient was a slab. 
• Other than gawking at the 1/13 avalanche cycle, we observed no recent avalanche activity.