Public Observation - Disbrow Creek, Flathead Range

Location Name: 
Public Observation - Disbrow Ridge, Flathead Range
Region: 
Flathead Range - Middle Fork Corridor
Date and time of observation: 
Sun, 01/15/2017 - 13:30
Location Map: 

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

Toured into Disbrow Creek drainage/ridge on Sunday.  Performed an ECT on a direct north aspect at roughly 6,600 foot elevation.  Shallow snowpack for the area, ranging from 100 to 135 cm.  Crust layers at 80 and 30cm and near the ground.  No reaction was found (ECTx).  Interestingly, the ice crust near the ground was about 5cm in thickness and was extremely firm.  Between this layer and the ground the snowpack was almost hollow.  Skiing was excellent along this north aspect.  Exit was on a south facing aspect.  Performed an informal ECT.  Again, shallow snowpack at 85cm depth, and again ECTx.  The snow set up from sun exposure below 6,000 feet elevation.

Of note, we observed giant surface hoar crystals forming above 6,000 feet on north and northeast aspects that could be problematic in the future. 

Weather Observations
Cloud Cover: 
25% of the sky covered by clouds
Air temperature: 
Below Freezing
Wind Speed: 
Light (Twigs in motion)
Precipitation: 
None
Air temperature trend: 
Warming
Wind Direction: 
Southwest
Accumulation rate: 
None
Activity: 
Skiing
High Temp. (C): 
-10
Low Temp. (C): 
-15