Avalanche season far from over

Avalanche forecasts from the U.S. Forest Service have concluded for the season. Spring conditions gradually settle and stabilize the slopes, but a deep mountain snowpack could present dangerous avalanche conditions into June in some areas, according to Kevin Davis, agency forecaster in Sandpoint.

Generally speaking, spring snow with heavy water content will be most prone to sliding in the warmth of the afternoon, he said.

Snowmobilers, skiers and other backcountry visitors will need to assess snow conditions for several more weeks, he said.

Avalanche incidents among North Idaho backcountry travelers were rare this winter, but Montana wasn’t so lucky.

Avalanches killed four people in Montana and swept up several others, but spared their lives. Most of the victims were snowmobilers.

The number of deaths is not unusual and from the standpoint of snow stability and risks in at least the Bozeman area, “it was a good year to be out skiing,” said Doug Chabot of the Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Center in Bozeman.

Snowfall was substantial compared to recent years and the snowpack tended to be stable, Chabot said.

“When we have a lot of consistent snow, it’s harder for weak layers to form,” he said. “We had avalanche activity immediately after a storm, but then it would stabilize.”

Two of Montana’s avalanche deaths this year involved bizarre circumstances west of Glacier National Park. A wall of snow, water, ice and broken trees overran three snowmobilers on Jan. 14. One survived.

The Glacier Country Avalanche Center in Kalispell said snow broke loose on a steep slope and the avalanche then smashed snow and ice on the surface of Red Meadow Lake, propelling a debris-laden wave that killed two of the people standing on the lake’s other side.

Eight days earlier, in the Beartooth Mountains of southwestern Montana, 7 feet of snow buried and killed a snowmobiler whose body was recovered 1 to 1 1/2 hours after the slide. Two companions who tried to flee the avalanche were covered only to their waists.

In the year’s earliest fatality, a snowmobiler on the Beartooths’ Mount Abundance died Jan. 5. A companion was not injured.

The avalanche centers, the oldest dating to 1979, have stepped up efforts to educate people about unstable snow and the need to carry rescue beacons, probes and shovels in risky places.

Avalanche experts say a person who is buried and not injured has a 90 percent chance of survival if dug out of the snow within 15 minutes.

The centers rate avalanche risk at five levels: low, moderate, considerable, high and extreme.