Observation Date: 04/01/2020

Route/Location:
I went on a tour up Little St. Joe and skied the south-facing Presidential Gully into Bass Creek.

Weather:
In and out sun and snow squalls.

Wind:
Light SW winds.

New Snow: 12-18 inches

Avalanche Activity:

None noted just giant collapses on northerly facing terrain.

Other Comments:

We experienced multiple huge collapses above 8200 feet in ENE facing terrain. I am assuming the layer it was collapsing on is surface hoar.

On recent tours in the Bitterroot over the past couple of weeks, I have noticed surface hoar is getting buried by the steady trickle of new snow. The surface hoar has been in most but not all locations above 7000 feet in northerly facing terrain.

I would expect that we will have avalanches failing on the buried surface hoar layer for the foreseeable future. These avalanches may be large, fast-moving, and really dangerous.

Right now, the best skiing is found on north-facing upper elevation slopes. The kicker is that where the skiing is good, the avalanche danger is super sketchy.

Take it easy out there! Springtime avalanches are sketchy!