Near surface conditions

Location Name: 
Forecaster Observation - Canyon Creek, southern Whitefish Range
Observation date: 
Friday, March 23, 2018 - 14:45
Is this an Avalanche Observation: 
Yes
Observation made by: Public

Tabs

Quick Observation
  • The rain/snow line was around 5500' from Thursday nights precipitation. New snow depth increased with elevation and was 2" at 6700'
  • Shady aspects received substantial warming on Thursday before the precipitation moved in. Numerous rollerballs and tree bombs were observed at mid elevations. 
  • A 1" melt freeze crust formed on upper elevation shady aspects due to Thursday's cloudy warm humid weather.
  • Recent snow showed affects of wind but no wind slabs were found on our tour.
  • A 3-4" sun crust formed Tuesday and Wednesday was observed on sunny aspects at mid and upper elevations. This crust was supportable to skis at all elevations in the morning.
Snowpack, Avalanche, Weather Images: 
Snowpack, Avalanche, Weather Videos: 

March 23, 2018 - Near surface conditions

Travel Details
Region: 
Whitefish Range - Southern (south of Coal Creek)
Snowpack Details
Snowpack and Weather Details: 
Hide Terrain
Elevation of observation: 
5000-6500 ft
Above 6500 ft
Aspect(s) of observation: 
N
SE
S
SW
Persistent Weak Layers: 
On the surface
Buried
New Snow in the past 24 hours: 
2.00in.
More comments about the snowpack and weather: 
Surface hoar was noted on the surface on shady aspects. Surface hoar was found preserved 14" below the surface on an upper elevation shaded aspect. This was the failure layer in our stability tests (ECTP 6). This layer formed prior to the 12" storm that occurred Sunday night/Monday.
Avalanche Details
Avalanche Details: 
Date and Time of Avalanche: 
Wednesday, March 21, 2018 - 16:45
Avalanche Type: 
Wet Loose
Failure Plane/Weak Layer: 
Within storm snow
More information or comments about the avalanche: 

Sunny weather on Wednesday triggered the storm snow from the Sunday night storm. Debris ran on the sun crust formed last week. 

Hide Trigger
Trigger: 
natural
Hide Terrain
Start Zone Slope Angle: 
35
Aspect: 
South
Starting Elevation: 
near-treeline
Hide Size
Destructive Size: 
D1 Relatively harmless to people.
Relative Size: 
R1 Very Small
Avalanche Length (Vertical Run): 
150ft.
Avalanche Width (Average width): 
20ft.
Avalanche Location: