Page 57 - Flathead Beacon // 12.14.16

MOUNTAIN EXPOSURE
OUTDOORS IN BRIEF
WEAK LAYER IN LOCAL SNOWPACK; AVALANCHE FATALITY IN COOKE CITY
The weekend of Dec. 10-12 brought continued light snowfall across the White sh, Swan, and Flathead ranges. Skiers, snow- boarders, and snowmobilers ven- turing into the backcountry to enjoy the u y fresh snow should be aware that weak layers show- ing signs of instability are buried deeper in the snowpack. This weak layer fractured and propagated across the slope during stability tests recently conducted by Flat- head Avalanche Center snow spe- cialists and recreationalists. It is early in the season, meaning there is uncertainty both in the distribu- tion of layers in the snowpack and with the reactivity of the recent snow load. FAC specialists recom- mend choosing less complex ter- rain where these weak layers are present.
Conditions change daily, so check the avalanche report at www. atheadavalanche.org for the most updated avalanche advisory.
Last week marked the winter’s rst avalanche event fatalities. While backcountry touring on Dec. 11 at Henderson Mountain north of Cooke City, two recreational- ists were caught in an avalanche that killed one skier, who was not identi ed in preliminary reports, and partially buried the other. The slide was reportedly six feet deep and 100 feet wide. The partially buried skier emerged uninjured, and located their partner with an avalanche transceiver within 15 minutes. CPR was administered, but resuscitation was unsuccess- ful. Specialists with the Galla- tin National Forest rated the ava- lanche danger as “considerable” on Dec. 11, with recent snowfall and strong winds creating unsta- ble conditions.
A skier in Nevada perished on Dec. 10 at Mount Rose south of Reno after triggering a slide in a closed and uncontrolled zone of the resort.
OUT OF BOUNDS ROB BREEDING WINTER FINALLY ARRIVES
AS I WRITE THIS, THE “STORM OF the century” is barreling down on the Flathead. By the time you read this, you’ll either be nursing a backache aggravated by shoveling waist-deep snow or laughing at how the weather prognos- ticators got it wrong once again.
Some say the Pineapple Express will soon arrive, and that has nothing to do with James Franco or the recent court ruling allowing Montana’s medical mar- ijuana dispensaries to reopen.
That might, however, be just the ticket for your back pain. But please consult your physician.
The Pineapple Express I’m talking about is a weather event that involves warm, moist air from the tropics fun- neling up toward the Paci c Northwest where it manifests itself in heavy rains on the coast — and sometimes snow, turning Seattle into the most dangerous place to drive on the planet.
By the time the Express makes it to the Rocky Mountains, it’s usually all snow.
My rst real bite of the Pineapple Express was a couple decades ago in the Bitterroot. We got slammed, hard, by more than a foot of snow overnight. I’m not talking about a foot of the light u y snow, you know, the stu of Christmas carols. This was a foot of the wettest, gummiest snow I’d ever seen. It was snow having an existential crisis about whether it wanted to be rain. To make matters worse, its stickiness suggested it might be equal parts Elmer’s Glue.
That heavy wet stu clung to every- thing, and nearly shut down the Bitter- root for a couple days. Trees, power lines, roofs all succumbed to the onslaught. It was a drag for a lot of folks, but for a day or two at least, the reporters at the small daily in Hamilton where I worked all had plenty to write about.
For the winter sports crowd, this is cause to celebrate. Laying a good base on the runs makes the downhillers happy.
Snowmobilers as well.
The cold is also building a nice layer of
ice on area lakes. But a layer of snow is cause for concern. You can’t see through it, for starters, so it’s harder to judge the quality of the ice. Snow acts like an insulating blanket, allowing the warmer water below to prevent the ice from form- ing as thick a layer as the air tempera- tures would suggest.
As always, safety is key. Just because the surface beneath you is solid enough to walk on doesn’t mean you’re not out on the water. So in addition to that heavy snowsuit, wear a PFD, and carry ice spikes to pull yourself out of the drink if you do go through.
Experienced ice anglers know this, but newbies beware. Even the most experi- enced ice anglers I know have stories of near calamities. It’s those stories of near misses that separate the old hands from those folks we only know through mem- ory. If you’re new to the sport, nd those guys who have been prowling the ice for decades and let them show you the way.
Fortunately, this rst real blast of winter coincided with a migration south I began planning last summer. I just saw on the news that another jaguar was lmed by a motion-sensitive camera set up in the oak forest of the Huachuca Mountains near Sierra Vista, Arizona. We hunt the lower slopes of the Huachu- cas for Mearns quail, and camp just west of there.
The cat appears to be a lone male, like those that have been recorded in the States the last few decades. Jaguars once ranged as far north as the Grand Canyon. Biologists have yet to nd Holy Grail, a breeding age female, north of the border.
I love that country and love those birds, but a glimpse of one of those spot- ted cats, or just a roar o in the distance as I tend the re, that’s a check o the bucket list.
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Certi ed by the American Board of Podiatric Surgery
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Rob Breeding writes and teaches when he’s not shing or hunting.
DECEMBER 14, 2016 // FLATHEADBEACON.COM
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