Natural avalanches above Dickey Lake

Location Name: 
Paola Ridge
Region: 
Flathead Range - Middle Fork Corridor
Date and time of observation: 
Thu, 03/09/2017 - 12:18
Location Map: 

Red Flags: 
Recent avalanche activity
Observation made by: Public
Snowpit Observations
More detailed information about the snowpack: 

Toured up Paola Ridge to Point 7202.  With calm to light winds, no wind-loading on our route and no wind-loading was observed on the surrounding terrain. Skiing was excellent.

Dug a snow pit at 7050 feet elevation, SE aspect. HS=280 cm. The Feb. 10 crust was down 135 cm from the surface and a more recent crust was down about 45  cm from the surface. ECT resulted in a few partial fractures under moderate to hard force in the uppper 30 cm of the snowpack. No propagation across the column.

We did notice two recent crowns on the north face of the unnamed peak directly above and to the south of Dickey Lake (peak 7852). Visibility was limited but these appeared to be about D2 in size. Then later in the day, two people in our party actually saw and heard a third avalanche on this same face. By this time of the day visibility was even worse, but we believe this was a slab avalanche that released on a hanging snowfield above some cliffs and was also about D2 in size.

Otherwise no other recent avalanche activity was observed.

Weather Observations
Blowing Snow: 
No
Cloud Cover: 
100% of the sky covered by clouds
Air temperature: 
Below Freezing
Wind Speed: 
Calm (No air motion)
Precipitation: 
Snow
Air temperature trend: 
Cooling
Accumulation rate: 
Less than 1 in. per hour
More detailed information about the weather: 

Overcast skies for most of the day, but the cloud ceiling was high enough (~8000-9000 feet elevation) at times that we could see the surrounding terrain. Pretty much calm winds at the ridgetop, with occasional light breeze from the east. Winds were actually stronger, light from the E or SE down in the Middle Fork valley. No precipitation except for the occasional snow flurries which added up to a trace amount of snow by the end of the day. Temperatures were in the low to mid-teens deg F.

Activity: 
Skiing
Precip Rate: 
S -1; very light snowfall, trace to 0.5cm/hour