Moto Class in Southern Whitefish Range

Today we went into the southern Whitefish Range with a group of motorized level 1 students. We observed the aftermath of a widespread natural avalanche cycle at low and mid-elevations with little to speak of larger start zones above 6000 feet.

• We observed roughly 20 crowns on slopes steeper than 35 degrees at elevations below 5500'. None of which were large enough to bury a human. Crowns averaged 6 to 12 inches thick. These avalanches likely occurred Friday during heavy precipitation and when other naturals were observed in nearby drainages. 
• A 1 to 2-inch thick rain crust now caps the surface up to about 4600 feet.
• We had good views into larger start zones between 6000 and 6500 feet. None of which had obvious crowns or debris piles. 
• We had non-propagating results with moderate and hard force in extended column tests on northeast and west aspects at roughly 6000 feet. These all failed on a layer of broken precipitation particles 12 to 18 inches below the surface.