Professional Observation - Mt. Furlong, Flathead Range

Location Name: 
Professional Observation - Mt. Furlong, Flathead Range
Region: 
Flathead Range/Glacier National Park - John F. Stevens Canyon
Date and time of observation: 
Sun, 04/02/2017 - 14:00
Location Map: 

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

Found mostly supportable snow in the morning that transitioned to trenchable weak snow in the afternoon at lower elevations.  The surface melt/refreeze crust had a dusting of new snow/graupel from overnight storms.  Above 5200' the crust became much stronger.  We saw a couple old crown lines that we suspected were cornice-fall triggered wind slabs across the main NW chute of Mt. Furlong and substantial debris piles below (including deep gouging down much further indicating that this area also experienced the massive wet slab avalanche cycle of a few weeks ago).  We also noticed blowing snow off of the ridgeline during our walk up.  

Dug a quick pit to have a look on the leeward side of the west ridgeline of Mt. Furlong at ~6900 feet to assess the potentially freshly formed wind deposits. In the top 100cm of the pit (245cm total depth), we found no cohesive surface layer, a couple of minor crusts mixed with soft, dry recently fallen snow (~30cm) on top of the stout St. Pattie's day crust (20cm thick), and a strong cohesive damp snowpack below.

No cracking, collapsing, or recent (last day or two) avalanches observed.

Snowpack photos: 
Weather Observations
Blowing Snow: 
Yes
Cloud Cover: 
75% of the sky covered by clouds
Air temperature: 
Above Freezing
Wind Speed: 
Light (Twigs in motion)
Precipitation: 
Snow
Air temperature trend: 
Cooling
Wind Direction: 
Southwest
Accumulation rate: 
Less than 1 in. per hour
More detailed information about the weather: 

Classic spring day - in and out squalls with up S2 precip then clearing.  Light winds that regularly gusted to moderate throughout the day.

Activity: 
Skiing
Precip Rate: 
S -1; very light snowfall, trace to 0.5cm/hour
High Temp. (C): 
7
Low Temp. (C): 
-1