Public Observation - Apgar Range, Glacier National Park

Shallow snowpack, previously cold temps, warming trend, new snow and moderate wind...  Not the greatest combination.  Skiing was good for the past week, however the warm temps accompanied by moderate winds are creating a soft slab overlaying several weak snow pack structures in the bottom 50 cms or so, still good but a bit upsidedown.  Several hand dug pits revealed the the same structure (see picture) with a snow depth varying from 50cm - 150cm.  Isolated columns easily failed while cutting out the back of the block on facets seperating the two decomposing crusts.  We also encountered several large collapses(several hundred square feet in area) in varied terrain.  Winds were moderate at about 6000',  increasing throughout the day and stonger along the ridge tops, exposed areas.  Apgars seam to have less snow that the Middle Fork and the Southern Whitefish Range.