Bad Layer in the Northern Bitterroot Mountains; Missoula BC Skiers Take Heed!

[stizzmt]

My group saw this layer, now buried 3-4 feet deep, last weekend, and we took risks. Our tests indicated the presence but not a high likelihood of propagation. In retrospect, we should have treated it with more respect. Given the recent heavy snow, by heavy I mean wet and heavy, it appears to be reactive now. You will most likely have to dig deeper than three feet to find it, but it appears to be faceted snow that has formed around the January crust. The public observations page will tell you more, thanks to those who posted; someone got close to being another statistic this weekend. Be safe, I myself am gonna try to trust my observations more...

This photo was taken in the area on Sunday, near the location of the slide in Spruce Creek detailed below.




The Spruce Creek slide observation is the burial...

http://www.missoulaavalanche.org/public-observations/

[creaky fossil]

the number of "public observations" rendered for the past 5 days surprise (or maybe don't) the shit out of me.

you'd have to be a near-eedjit to go out there right now. what's the excuse? just got to western MT this season and haven't paid attention to the season's snowfalls, 'tween snowfall weather, and terrain onto which the snow fell?

I guess everyone's got the urge to be a GoPro Hero now, or a tweeter about a rad "backcountry" experience, or a blog about the same -- or a TGR report stating the obvious.

what in Hades do people think formed during that period of deep cold & high pressure & no snow (early Dec), then not-warm snow on top of that layer (almost all the snow that fell in Jan), then some warming, then more arctic icebox weather, then more cold dry snow. our only semi-reprieve was warm snow with occasional rain the past week, but that can't save the shit that lays underneath it

be smart and go nordic or go ride chairs if you need alpine turns, this isn't the season to be Joe RadBro who just moved to Missoula from _____________.