Posted:
Nov 21, 2016 @ 12:09 pm

Hi everyone, this is Travis Craft at the West Central Montana Avalanche Center with early season avalanche safety information issued Monday, November 21, 2015.

Snotel sites are slowly accumulating snow.  With winter slowly taking over the higher elevations it is time to start thinking about avalanches and preparing for backcountry recreation.

In past years there have been a number of early season close calls and fatalities in Montana involving hunters and climbers.  Hunters tend to travel solo without avalanche rescue equipment and avalanches are most likely the last thing they are thinking of as they follow elk tracks across steep, open terrain.

If you see any of these obvious clues (listed below) signaling dangerous snow conditions, avoid being on or under open slopes steeper than 30 degrees.

  • Recent avalanche activity
  • Cracking or collapsing snowpack
  • Heavy snowfall
  • High winds
  • Rapid increase in temperature

If you spend any amount of time in the mountains in the winter, chances are good that you will encounter avalanche terrain.  Having basic awareness of terrain, weather and snow factors goes a long way toward making good decisions in avalanche terrain.  To assist you, we are offering several basic and advanced avalanche awareness classes this winter. We also have instructors available to provide your organization a range of programs from introductory lectures to classes with a field component. Check out our course offerings here.

Any information you can provide and send the WCMAC is appreciated and helps us inform the rest of the community about avalanche safety conditions. Please send a quick email to [email protected] or complete the easy to use form here public observation.

We will update the advisory as the weather dictates and plan to begin issuing regular avalanche advisories with a danger rating in mid-December.

Have a safe and Happy Turkey Day.

READ FULL ADVISORY  

Problem 1 - New Snow

  • TYPE

    loose-dry

    Loose Dry

    Release of wet unconsolidated snow or slush. These avalanches typically occur within layers of wet snow near the surface of the snowpack, but they may quickly gouge into lower snowpack layers. Like Loose-Dry Avalanches,they start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. They generally move slowly, but can contain enough mass to cause significant damage to trees, cars or buildings. Other names for loose-wet avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs. Loose-wet avalanches can trigger slab avalanches that break into deeper snow layers.

  • SIZE

    3-4

    1-2 (Small-Large)

    The potential size of avalanche resulting from this problem.

  • LIKELIHOOD

    Likelihood-3

    Possible

    The likelihood of an avalanche resulting from this problem.

New snow in the mountains. If  the slope has enough snow on it to ride then it can slide.

FORECAST & OUTLOOK

More snow later in the week.

This information is the sole responsibility of the Forest Service and does not apply to operating ski areas. The avalanche danger rating expires at midnight tonight but the information can help you make a more informed decision regarding travel in avalanche terrain for the next few days.

Our advisory area includes National Forest System lands in the Bitterroot Mountains from Lost Trail Pass north to Granite Pass, the Rattlesnake Mountains north of Missoula and the Southern Swan and Mission Mountains near Seeley Lake, MT. Avalanche information for the Lookout Pass/St. Regis Basin area is available from the Idaho Panhandle Avalanche Center.