Glacier National Park Ski Tour

The biggest issue this trip is that there is no avalanche forecast zone covering this part of Glacier, and the Avalanche Center data is currently unavailable. That means you have zero institutional read on snowpack structure, recent natural activity, or identified weak layers. With an active Winter Weather Advisory through noon today, E/ENE winds at 10–14 mph, and 82% precipitation probability loading new snow onto whatever is already up there, you need to treat Sunday as a conservative day and build your own picture from what you observe on the skin track. Watch for shooting cracks, whumfing, and recent avalanche debris — those are your bulletin substitutes right now.

The SNOTEL picture is oddly fragmented. Annie Springs at 6,021 ft shows only 12 inches of depth and 5.7 inches SWE — thin for late April at that elevation. Long Lake's 92-inch depth reading is at 840 ft, which is almost certainly a data artifact or station anomaly; that elevation shouldn't hold that snowpack at this time of year. McNeil Canyon at 1,348 ft is already at zero. The net read: lower elevations are melting out, and the 35-inch snowpack depth flagged for your area is plausible for the higher terrain you'll be touring, but it's a shallow late-season base. New snow today is loading onto a snowpack that may have a crust or melt-freeze layer beneath it from recent warm temperatures — classic setup for a wind slab or storm slab problem that you'll need to evaluate in the field.

Temperatures tell a useful story for timing. Sunday stays cold — high 24°F, overnight low 11°F — so wet slide risk is nonexistent today, but the new snow will be wind-affected. Monday warms to 34°F with S winds at 8 mph and mostly sunny skies, which is your best travel day: solar warming is limited, winds are light, and the new snow from Sunday will have had a night to settle. Tuesday climbs to 38°F with WSW winds and 52% precip probability — freezing level will be riding up, and any south-facing terrain that got solar heating Monday will be primed for wet loose activity by early afternoon Tuesday. If you're moving Tuesday, get on and off sun-exposed aspects before noon.

Stream crossings in the data set are from California gauges — completely irrelevant to your location and should be disregarded. With 14+ hours of daylight, you have a wide operational window, but given the avalanche data gap, prioritize getting out early on Monday to maximize your evaluation time on the skin track before committing to steeper terrain. Stay conservative on aspect and angle until you've dug a pit and seen how the new snow is bonding.