Snowpack Summary October storms deposited the season’s first snowfall in the high peaks, which lingered into November on the high, shady slopes of our northern mountains. From November 7th-19th, a series of storms dropped several feet of snow in the mountains. Mountain temperatures warmed to near 40F towards the end of the cycle, providing a dense base for early -season backcountry skiing—and even snowmobiling. Folks were talking about the possibility of a record-setting La Niña season! But wait—not so fast! These storms were followed by 3 weeks of dry conditions, clear skies, and relatively cold temperatures. This drought produced an especially weak and widespread persistent facet layer that plagued us for most of the season. Daily Backcountry Avalanche Forecasts began on December 13th, and then 1-2’ of new snow falling from December 15th through Christmas finally loaded the weak layer. Avalanche Danger increased to CONSIDERABLE and HIGH on December 21st, and we issued our first Avalanche Warning of the winter for the Sawtooths & Western Smoky and the Banner Summit zones. Small avalanche cycles in our northern zones occurred on December 17th, and December 26th, and a widespread cycle occurred December 20th-21st.
Photo: C. Marshall
The New Year rang in with a multi-day storm that ramped up on January 4th, dropping 1-2’ of snow. January 4th brought HIGH avalanche danger and an Avalanche Warning for all four zones. During this storm, 51 avalanches larger than D2 (big enough to bury or injure a Photo: Blaine County
