Just a little higher; it's gonna be POW!

Location Name: 
Forecaster Observation - Ten Lakes area
Observation date: 
Tuesday, January 21, 2020 - 18:45

Is this an Avalanche Observation: 
Yes
Observation made by: Forecaster

Location

Tabs

Quick Observation

We traveled to the northern Whitefish Range to see if wet snow instabilities would develop. And to get a firsthand look at the MLK freezing rain crust.

  • Overcast or obscured skies and cooler than expected temperatures meant no wet snow hazards developed.
  • Light snow started falling at upper elevations about mid-afternoon, which transitioned to rain showers in the valley by late afternoon.
  • The MLK freezing rain crust was hard to miss. Loud, hard, omnipresent except right next to trees. Some trees. All elevations.
  • Though we found some small surface hoar grains atop the crust, the bigger concern seems to be the crust collapsing when loaded. It sits on very soft, dry, low density snow. At this point, it's not clear how much load it would take, though most likely 1.5-3" of water. Video here.
  • The holiday crust (12/31) was buried 125 cm below the surface. The snow above it has few, if any, distinct weak layers and gets progressively harder with depth. THe exceptions are density changes or storm interfaces that don't seem likely to persist as potential failure planes.
  • We saw one old crown on a northeast facing slope at about 6800 feet. It failed below the ridge crest. From the depth it likely broke on old snow; best guess for date is 1/12.

Because our ascent/ descent route didn't expose us to much, if any, avalanche terrain, we could focus on getting down in one piece. 

Snowpack, Avalanche, Weather Images: 
Travel Details
Region: 
Whitefish Range - Northern (north of Coal Creek)
Route Description: 

3600- 7200 feet

Activity: 
Skiing
Snowboarding
Snowpack Details
Snowpack and Weather Details: 
Hide Terrain
Elevation of observation: 
3500-5000 ft
5000-6500 ft
Above 6500 ft
Aspect(s) of observation: 
NE
E
SE
S
SW
Red Flags: 
Rapid or prolonged warming
Persistent Weak Layers: 
Facets or Faceted Crust
On the surface
New Snow in the past 24 hours: 
0.50in.
Total Snow Depth: 
225 cm
More comments about the snowpack and weather: 
Weather forecast must have been for a different day.
Blowing Snow: 
None
Wind Speed: 
Light (Twigs in motion)
Wind Direction: 
Southwest
Air temperature: 
Below Freezing
Sky Cover: 
Obscured by fog, etc (X)
Highest Precipitation Rate: 
Very Light Snowfall (S-1)
Avalanche Details
Avalanche Details: 
Date and Time of Avalanche: 
Sunday, January 12, 2020 - 15:00
Number of avalanches: 
1
Avalanche Type: 
Unknown
Failure Plane/Weak Layer: 
Old snow
More information or comments about the avalanche: 

Old crown observed from a distance. Date unknown; guessing on date due to snowfall at nearby SNOTEL. 

Hide Trigger
Trigger: 
natural
Hide Terrain
Aspect: 
Northeast
Starting Elevation: 
6800
Hide Size
Destructive Size: 
D2 Could bury, injure, or kill a person.
Relative Size: 
R3 Medium
Avalanche Width (Average width): 
250ft.
Avalanche Location: