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Inoffensive temp crust
Location Name:
W side of N swans
Observation date:
Friday, December 24, 2021 - 15:30
Is this an Avalanche Observation:
No
Observation made by:
Public
Tabs
Quick Observation
We toured on the W side of the northern swan range today between 5000 and 6200'. Did not observe any natural avalanches with cloud ceiling up to ~6400' and did not trigger any windslabs on test slopes.
Average 100cm height of snow at 5600' on NW slope
Dug at 6300' WNW on a leeward slope just below ridge line. Moderate and hard ECT failures did not propogate in storm and windslab layers down 6 and 17cm. 1F- windslab was 11cm thick and sometimes had very moderate shooting cracks and hollow feeling supportable windslab. Otherwise snowpack right side up, 145cm.
Skiing improved as we descended, since we dropped below the widespread unreactive windslab band a few hundred feet below the ridge. Interestingly, a very subtle temperature crust ~3mm thick, probably from 12/23 warming, coated the softer snow below and the windslab to 6400' up high. Storm snow seemed to be bonding well to it, sluffing minimally.
Image is of cross loaded S slope across the valley, gullies filling in but mini ridges shallow
Snowpack, Avalanche, Weather Images:
Travel Details
Region:
Swan Range - West Side (Flathead Valley access)
Activity:
Skiing
Snowpack Details
Snowpack and Weather Details:
Terrain
Elevation of observation:
5000-6500 ft
Aspect(s) of observation:
SE
S
NW
