No mo FOMO...

Location Name: 
Forecaster Observation - J.F. Stevens Canyon
Observation date: 
Sunday, March 22, 2020 - 20:00
Is this an Avalanche Observation: 
Yes
Observation made by: Forecaster

Tabs

Quick Observation

Skipped out on the busy northern Flathead Range, where it looked like 4+" of new snow fell last night, in favor of sunny Stevens Canyon. FOGI (Fear of Getting Infected) and FOIO (Fear of Infecting Others).

  • 1-2" of fresh snow drifted in a few spots to 4-6" deep, with no cracking or other signs of instability. 
  • Older, harder drifts weren't reactive to stomping or skiing.
  • We did trigger several small (D1-1.5) sluffs on a steep, northerly slope at mid elevation. These fanned out and entrained some of the older, faceted snow that was buried last night (Avalanche details tab). 
  • The fresh snow remained dry on NW-N-E aspects at mid and upper elevations. We saw one fan of rollerballs on a steep slope below a rock outcrop - a likely spot. 
  • A shallow refreeze occurred at low elevations (below 5000 ft), perhaps because the new snow insulated the 4-10" of moist, soft, melt-freeze grains. We produced a few rollerballs in this snow but nothing resembling a hazard. 

Skin wax and ski crampons helped with skinning on sunny slopes. On shady slopes, the facets under the new snow made for some slippery conditions. On our descents, we had cold, light snow on norths and a lot of variety on sunny slopes. 

 

Snowpack, Avalanche, Weather Images: 
Travel Details
Region: 
Glacier National Park - Southern Lewis Range
Route Description: 

to 6850'

Activity: 
Skiing
Snowpack Details
Snowpack and Weather Details: 
Hide Terrain
Elevation of observation: 
3500-5000 ft
5000-6500 ft
Above 6500 ft
Aspect(s) of observation: 
NE
E
SE
S
NW
Red Flags: 
Blowing snow
Rollerballs / pinwheels
Persistent Weak Layers: 
Facets or Faceted Crust
Buried
New Snow in the past 24 hours: 
2.00in.
Total Snow Depth: 
370 cm
More comments about the snowpack and weather: 
Light winds at ridges w moderate gusts. Some blowing snow at ridgecrests with wide fetches. 24* at highway midmorning; 43* midafternoon. Profile on NNE slope at 6450'. HS 370 cm. Progressively harder snow to 3/1 crust. ECTN M ~10 cm down, on small FC. DTX below 3/1 crust. Last week's graupel layer visible in hardness profile and when digging, but no results.
Blowing Snow: 
Light
Wind Speed: 
Moderate (Small trees sway)
Wind Direction: 
Southwest
Air temperature: 
Below Freezing
Sky Cover: 
Mostly Clear (FEW)
Avalanche Details
Avalanche Details: 
Date and Time of Avalanche: 
Sunday, March 22, 2020 - 13:15
Number of avalanches: 
2
Avalanche Type: 
Loose Dry/ Sluff
Failure Plane/Weak Layer: 
New/old snow interface
More information or comments about the avalanche: 

Sluff triggered on ski cut thatfanned out, entrained some older facets below, and ran relatively far for the slope. 2nd sluff a D1. 

Hide Trigger
Trigger: 
skier
Trigger Modifier: 
Intentionally Triggered
Hide Terrain
Start Zone Slope Angle: 
39
Aspect: 
Northwest
Starting Elevation: 
6100
Hide Size
Destructive Size: 
D1.5
Relative Size: 
R2 Small
Crown Height: 
Less than 1 ft
Avalanche Length (Vertical Run): 
75ft.
Avalanche Location: