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Sunny and Calm in JFS Canyon
Location Name:
BNSF Avalanche Program-Running Rabbit Mtn. GNP
Observation date:
Tuesday, January 8, 2019 - 19:00
Is this an Avalanche Observation:
No
Observation made by:
Professional Observer
Location
Tabs
Quick Observation
Travelled up the south face of Running Rabbit Mtn. via the Shed11/10.7 ridge to the Shed 11 weather station then continued up the SW ridge of Running Rabbit to 7300 feet and looked into the uppermost starting zone of Path 1163.
Objective was to asses yesterday’s snowfall totals and keep tabs on the snowpack structure, specifically the persistent weak layer(s) near the bottom of the snowpack.
Descended via Shed 10.7 and the Shed 10.7/11 ridge.
Clear skies in the AM becoming partly cloudy by the afternoon. No precipitation and almost totally calm conditions. Air temperatures in the low-teens °F above 6000 feet for most of the day.
New snowfall amounts from yesterday’s storm ranged from 8-12 inches.
The recent wind-loading was much less severe than with previous storms. The newest generation of windslabs were general less than 8 inches thick and mostly isolated to the eastern side of the Shed 11/10.7 ridge.
We could get some minor shooting cracks, 2-4 feet long, in these new wind slabs with ski cuts (photo).
Above 7000 feet where the snowpack was thin and/or variable over the rocky terrain we experienced numerous audible collapses and had some cracks shoot 10-20 feet out from under our skis.
We dug a snowpit on the ridge just west of Path 1163 at 7250 feet elevation on a southeasterly aspect where we heard/felt a collapse.
The poor snowpack structure remains with the December facets present near the ground underneath a firm mid pack of 1F hardness (pit profile below). The December facets remain reactive here and the layer failed and propagated with hard force during an Extended Column Test.
Visibility was excellent and we saw one small (D1.5) slab avalanche that failed in the Shed 7 West just underneath the cornice (photo). Debris terminated well above the rail grade.
No other avalanche activity observed in the Program Area.
Outside the Program Area in the nearby Flathead range we saw several avalanches including:
Multiple on the E face of Felix Peak, with some likely failing on the Dec facets, up to D2.5 (photo).
1 on the NE face of Unawah also likely failing on the Dec facets.
1 below the E col of Adams/Elk Mtn, again suspect the Dec facets as failure layer.
Wind/storm slab on the E face of Cameahwait, D2
Snowpack, Avalanche, Weather Images:
Travel Details
Region:
Flathead Range/Glacier National Park - John F. Stevens Canyon
Activity:
Skiing
Snowpack Details
Snowpack and Weather Details:
Terrain
Elevation of observation:
3500-5000 ft
5000-6500 ft
Above 6500 ft
Aspect(s) of observation:
E
SE
S
SW
Red Flags:
Shooting cracks
Collapsing / whumpfing noises
Persistent Weak Layers:
Facets or Faceted Crust
Avalanche Details
Avalanche Details:
Date and Time of Avalanche:
Monday, January 7, 2019 - 12:00
Avalanche Type:
Hard Slab
Failure Plane/Weak Layer:
Old snow
Trigger
Trigger:
natural
Terrain
Aspect:
East
Starting Elevation:
above-treeline
Size
Destructive Size:
D2.5
Date and Time of Avalanche:
Monday, January 7, 2019 - 12:15
Avalanche Type:
Soft Slab
Failure Plane/Weak Layer:
Within storm snow
More information or comments about the avalanche:
Trigger
Trigger:
natural
Terrain
Starting Elevation:
above-treeline
Size
Destructive Size:
D2 Could bury, injure, or kill a person.
