Observation Date: 01/15/2017

Route/Location:
northern bitterroots

Weather:
sunny and mid 20’s. felt very warm in the sun.

Wind:
we observed very little wind, although ridgetops were very wind affected from previous days.

New Snow: No New Snow

Avalanche Activity:
We observed several small point releases from solar radiation on south faces. no other avalanche activity

Other Comments:
We toured for three days and enjoyed generally stable conditions. Several layers were reactive in our pit tests: ct12 @ 1 foot, ct18 @ 2 feet. no propagation in ECT and all failures were quality 2-3. Snowpack was “right side up” and well consolidated.

We noticed frost hoar development throughout the area on all aspects up to about 2″ thick, which made for some fun glassy turns and sparkles in the sun, but something to keep an eye on after the next storm cycle.

Observer: nathan mcleod