Only mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the noonday sun

Location Name: 
Forecaster Observation - Wahoo Creek
Observation date: 
Sunday, March 3, 2019 - 17:30
Is this an Avalanche Observation: 
No
Observation made by: Forecaster

Tabs

Quick Observation

Only mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the noonday sun. Flathead skiers wait for it in these conditions. 

Afternoon tour on the westerly slopes in Wahoo Creek.

  • 4-8" recent and/ or drifted snow. This snow is faceting in the cold temperatures. Seems to be happeing more rapidly below treeline. 
  • A few spots where the near surface snow felt dense and slabby, except at ridgeline. The slabs were soft, thin (<5"), and brittle. Despite some short cracks (<2'), the slabs we encountered lacked the integrity to carry fracture. 
  • Triggered 2 loose snow avalanches on a convex rollover at about 5200 feet. These entrained some snow and on a slope with a long, continuous pitch, might have gotten large enough to catch someone. 
  • Upper elevation terrain on Nyack Mtn looked mostly crossloaded. Shadowed, so I couldn't tell if the Nyack and Penrose avalanche factories had produced any widgets. One possible crown across a very steep rib on the east face of Penrose. Not enough of a vew to confirm. No crowns visible on other peaks that were better lit.

We skinned and skied westerly slopes to 40 degrees with no signs of slab instability.

Travel Details
Region: 
Flathead Range - Middle Fork Corridor
Snowpack Details
Snowpack and Weather Details: 
Hide Terrain
Elevation of observation: 
3500-5000 ft
5000-6500 ft
Aspect(s) of observation: 
NE
E
W
NW
New Snow in the past 24 hours: 
0.00in.
More comments about the snowpack and weather: 
Some light winds at ridge crest but otherwise, calm-light. In pole handle tests, near-surface snow mostly progressively harder with depth. A few spots above 5500 ft where it was possible to feel an old wind slab with softer snow below. No cracking or collapsing on this layer, or any layer.
Blowing Snow: 
None
Wind Speed: 
Light (Twigs in motion)
Wind Direction: 
East
Highest Precipitation Rate: 
No Precipitation (NO)
Avalanche Details
Avalanche Details: 
Date and Time of Avalanche: 
Sunday, March 3, 2019 - 17:30
Avalanche Type: 
Loose Dry/ Sluff
Failure Plane/Weak Layer: 
Within storm snow
More information or comments about the avalanche: 

Triggered crossing mid slope convexity. Not fast moving, though they did entrain some snow. Stopped wuickly, because slope was well-buttressed.

Hide Trigger
Trigger: 
skier
Trigger Modifier: 
Accidentally Triggered
Hide Terrain
Start Zone Slope Angle: 
40
Aspect: 
Northwest
Starting Elevation: 
near-treeline
Hide Size
Destructive Size: 
D1 Relatively harmless to people.
Hide People Involved
Number of people caught: 
0
Number of partial burials: 
0
Number of full burials: 
0
Avalanche Location: