Old slides, good stability in Hay Creek

We found great riding conditions and good stability today in the Northern Whitefish Range, but evidence of a very impressive cycle from mid-February.

• On south-facing terrain above Hay Creek, we observed filled-in crown lines that appeared to connect multiple start zones wall-to-wall. Debris ran full track to historic runouts and snapped a handful of mature trees. We estimate these were persistent slabs that ran on the 2/2 crust during the mid-February cycle (and Avalanche Warning)
• Today, we found that same persistent slab structure has lost cohesion and has largely faceted away with unreactive pit results at mid elevations. We were not able access upper elevation terrain in the area that slid.
• Last weekend’s wind event had minor effects in this area. There was some evidence of light scouring and cross-loading above 6700’, but the drifts we tested were soft and unreactive. 
• We traveled on a lot of steep terrain with no signs of instability but remained cautious of high elevation, southerly aspects where there was potential for recent wind loading onto a previously volatile persistent slab structure.