Wind scoured start zones.

Today we went into the Flathead Range to get more information about the snowpack at upper elevations. We were particularly interested in areas that were wind-scoured from a strong northeast wind event in October. This wind event left many north and east facing slopes shallow and prone to faceting. 

• New snow accumulation ranged from dust on crust at low elevations and 1 to 3 inches at mid and upper elevations. Most of the new snow was graupel. 
• We identified three loose dry avalanches out of steep, upper elevation terrain. These were all small (D1) in size.
• We found the recently formed melt freeze crust up to 7200 feet.  
• Above 6800 feet on a northeast aspect, the wind beat the surface into a very firm, slick wind board. This made slide for life like conditions with skins on.
• On a northwest facing ridgeline, we found a rotten, faceted snowpack that was less than a foot to two feet thick. This kind of structure is worrisome once we have a slab on top. The most challenging part about this is that it is typically in locations where the snowpack is the thickest and it is variable due to wind scouring. 
• Other areas we dug had a stable snowpack with good structure. We did find facets above the block of ice at the ground on a southeast aspect above 7000' (see photo). 

Due to the lack of recent snow accumulation from yesterday and last night, we felt comfortable riding in steep terrain at upper elevation. Given the surface that the new snow fell on, I would anticipate areas that received more snow to be a different story.