Public Observation - Marion Lake, Flathead Range

Location Name: 
Public Observation - Marion Lake, Flathead Range
Region: 
Flathead Range - Middle Fork Corridor
Date and time of observation: 
Thu, 03/03/2016 - 11:27
Location Map: 

Red Flags: 
Recent loading by new snow, wind, or rain
Obvious avalanche path
Observation made by: Public
Snowpit Observations
More detailed information about the snowpack: 

Out for a rip above Marion Lake today!  Snow line was distictively at 5800 ft. The temperatures were dropping throughout the day with a couple short storms of 1+ cm per hour graupeling precip.  Found 10-20cm of new dense snow on top of Monday's melt/freeze crust above the rain/sleet line.

Dug a south-facing pit at 6800 ft. on a 32° slope that was 250cm deep.  20cm of mixed wind deposited/new snow on top of Monday's melt/freeze crust.  Valentine's day crust is buried 75cm from the surface and is decomposing with a bit of faceting noticed just above the crust.  No evidence of buried surface hoar noticed. (probably due to Southerly aspect). ECTN 13 @ 230cm on graupel layer above Monday Crust, CT 16 Q2 @ 230cm, CT 22 Q3 @ 205cm on another buried graupel layer

 

Any other comments about the observation or links to outside pages that have more info on the observation: 

The skiing was creamy and fast... once you dried off from the rain on the trail up!

Weather Observations
Blowing Snow: 
Yes
Cloud Cover: 
100% of the sky covered by clouds
Wind Speed: 
Moderate (Small trees sway)
Precipitation: 
Mixed rain and snow
Air temperature trend: 
Cooling
Wind Direction: 
Southwest
Accumulation rate: 
Less than 1 in. per hour
Activity: 
Skiing
Precip Rate: 
S1; light snowfall, 1cm/hour
High Temp. (C): 
39
Low Temp. (C): 
27