HUNGRY HORSE — With widespread snow expected this weekend, outdoor enthusiasts will be hitting the slopes both on the ski hills and in the backcountry.
The Flathead Avalanche Center’s daily forecasts are a vital resource for backcountry users looking to recreate safely in northwest Montana.
“You know this weekend and even into next week it looks active, it looks like we’re going to be seeing a couple feet of snow, so just in the near future we’re going to see the avalanche danger rise,” said Flathead Avalanche Center forecaster Cam Johnson.
Starting this week, the Flathead Avalanche Center will begin issuing daily avalanche forecasts each morning typically around 7 a.m. at FlatheadAvalanche.org.
“The forecasts are issued by 7 a.m. so a lot of times we’re up at 4 a.m. looking at weather stations and looking at observations from what we put in but also the general public gives us observations so we can also add that into our stream of data,” said Johnson.
Johnson said forecasters compile field reports, snowpack evaluations and weather station data to report the most-up-to-date avalanche forecasts.
“We’ve got a lot of experience on our team and so it’s a really good resource to have in the valley.”
Flathead Avalanche Forecasters cover a vast landscape, approximately 1.2 million acres of public land.
“The Whitefish, Swan, Flathead ranges as well as parts of Glacier National Park, so pretty much from the Canada border down to Marias Pass and down to Swan Lake essentially, so it’s a lot of terrain,” said Johnson.
Johnson said being prepared is your best line of defense when recreating in the backcountry.
“Get the equipment, shovel, beacon, probe and know how to use it, get the education, we offer a lot of different awareness classes and there’s level one classes offered by us and then other outfits in the valley.”
