Sticky, funky, crusty and chunky

Location Name: 
Forecaster Observation - Middle Fork
Observation date: 
Saturday, February 22, 2020 - 19:15
Is this an Avalanche Observation: 
No
Observation made by: Forecaster

Tabs

Quick Observation

Afternoon tour into the northern Flathead Range to see how warming temps and wind have affected conditions. 

  • Warmer temperatures and greenhousing from today's clouds left the snow on even shaded low elevation slopes sticky or wet, with rollerballs and small natural point releases occurring on many steep slopes. The snow was sticky enough to almost stop downhill progress, even when skiing at a pretty good clip. 
  • I was unable to trigger a low elevation test slope late afternoon, despite 15-20 cm of wet snow, because my skis wouldn't move.
  • Recent winds have scoured and drifted snow on open slopes at mid elevations, even funneling down creek beds in forested areas. The winds have left hard but unreactive slabs and thin wind crusts (and funky skiing) on most open slopes in this elevation band. Wind effects reached down below 4500 feet in one drainage and below 4000 feet in another. 
  • Chunky debris from the mid-January slides widened and extended parts of the major avalanche paths in these drainage, even running almost 100 vertical feet uphill and nearly cresting a small knob. 

I avoided steep, convex rolls and drifted gullies on my descent due to the unpredictable nature of hard wind slabs. 

Snowpack, Avalanche, Weather Images: 
Travel Details
Region: 
Flathead Range - Middle Fork Corridor
Route Description: 

3400 to 6200 ft

Activity: 
Skiing
Snowpack Details
Snowpack and Weather Details: 
Hide Terrain
Elevation of observation: 
3500-5000 ft
5000-6500 ft
Aspect(s) of observation: 
N
NE
E
W
NW
Red Flags: 
Rollerballs / pinwheels
More comments about the snowpack and weather: 
Gusty winds, sometimes mixing down to low elevations. By mid-late afternoon, Snow moist and very sticky - almost no glide, and my skis were just waxed - on sheltered/ forested slopes below about 5000 feet where the snow was not affected by recent winds. Saw no surface hoar, though surface snow on shaded, wind-sheltered slopes was faceted. The Mid-January slide(s) extended trimlines of the paths in this drainage.
Blowing Snow: 
Light
Wind Speed: 
Moderate (Small trees sway)
Air temperature: 
Above Freezing
Snow line: 
4000
Sky Cover: 
Mostly Cloudy (BRK)