Broken Leg North

Location Name: 
North Broken Leg Mountain
Observation date: 
Monday, March 21, 2022 - 11:15

Is this an Avalanche Observation: 
No
Observation made by: Public

Tabs

Quick Observation

Hiked then skinned up to a high point of 6000' to see what was delvered to this area over the last week.  A lot of melting and refreezing (mostly melting) going on below 5000'.  The strong graupel shower we received in the valley early Sun morning was evident above 4800' where it had not yet melted.  At higher elevations there was about an inch of new with a lot of graupel included.

Again, the surface snow conditions varied a lot based on aspect and elevation.  Dug a pit at ~5900' on a WNW aspect finding a foot of F hard snow over the hard early March crust.  CT15 on a layer of weak snow above the crust.  The rest of the column broke at the ground.  No propagation on that layer ( ECTN21).  Unfortunately when decending this line that nice foot of surface snow was quicly replaced by a grabby crust and frozen rollerballs below 5500'.

SW and W aspects provided dust (graupel) on a thick crust.  

Generally there was little evidence of Sunday's moderate winds.  

Snowpack, Avalanche, Weather Images: 
Travel Details
Region: 
Swan Range - West Side (Flathead Valley access)
Activity: 
Skiing
Hiking
Snowpack Details
Snowpack and Weather Details: 
Hide Terrain
Elevation of observation: 
3500-5000 ft
5000-6500 ft
Aspect(s) of observation: 
SW
W
NW
Persistent Weak Layers: 
Facets or Faceted Crust
New Snow in the past 24 hours: 
1.00in.
Total Snow Depth: 
195
More comments about the snowpack and weather: 
See snow profile plot
Blowing Snow: 
None
Wind Speed: 
Light (Twigs in motion)
Wind Direction: 
Southwest
Air temperature: 
Below Freezing
Snow line: 
4500 feet
Sky Cover: 
Overcast (OVC)
Highest Precipitation Rate: 
Very Light Snowfall (S-1)