New snow over the past 24 to 36 hours has been heavy in areas.  Although observations and weather station readings vary across the area, some locations have received in excess of 20 inches of snow over the past 36 hours.  Other locations are reporting  much less snow in the range of 4 to 6 inches.  The snow has come in very light with low Snow Water Equivalency, but in large enough amounts in areas to cause escalated instability. Continue reading →

The Daily Inter Lake reports that  hiker with hundreds of miles under her belt isn’t unique in this part of the world. But Joyce Moon, who has been taking intense hikes for six years, is a bit of a different story. She started tackling Glacier National Park’s many trails just six years ago, when she was 72. Her last hike, a three-day adventure from Logan Pass to Goat Haunt and into Waterton, started cold and wet before a bit of divine intervention.  Read the full article here.

The Missoulian reports that by last week’s deadline, 60 people or organizations had filed hundreds of pages of objections to the draft plans. The two national forests, on the northwestern Montana-northern Idaho border, are the first in the nation to develop new long-term management plans. “The new process allows the public a greater view of the wide variety of perspectives we’re trying to balance,” Idaho Panhandle spokesman Jason Kirchner said on Friday. “In 1987, this was mostly a timber-focused production plan. We’ve learned quite a bit about forest management since then. The new plan focuses on ecosystem management, in trying to balance various uses, impacts and needs of the forests.”  Read the full story here.

The Flathead Beacon reports that more freight than ever is traveling across BNSF Railway’s tracks in North Dakota and Montana, according to a company spokesperson. While that’s good news for the bottom line and reflects a strengthened economy, it’s bad news for passengers aboard Amtrak’s Empire Builder between Chicago and Portland and Seattle.  Read the full story here.

The Hungry Horse News reports…  I learned this past week that I, along with dozens of other Flathead residents, recently got hacked. This was my first experience, and I appreciate the fact that watchful people at my credit card company immediately caught wind of what was happening and shut it down quickly. While investigators continue to pursue leads in a big case that impacted credit card services at grocery stores across Northwest Montana, credit cards are now being accepted at Super 1 Foods and other affected stores.  Read the full story here.

The Daily Inter Lake reports that rigid weather that has descended on the Flathead Valley is impacting outdoor events. Parades were canceled Friday night in Columbia Falls and Bigfork while Whitefish Mountain Resort officials are reconsidering how much of the ski area will open today. Temperatures well below zero and wind-chill values of minus 40 or lower are predicted across Northwest Montana today — the chilliest day of the current cold snap.  Read the full story here.

We had an email from a North Fork neighbor yesterday that we thought you would enjoy… Bottomed out at 9 below this morning, got up to 7 today, and was 1 last I looked.  No new snow, but a skiff overnight. Boy are we going through the wood. Today I brought 2 sled loads up and split a couple of buckets of kindling and kitchen wood. John Frederick told me years ago that when it really gets cold, ten below or more, you can just drop a piece of wood and it will split itself. Well, we shall see!

If you have a tall tale from the North Fork, send it along.  It will help keep folks entertained during this long winter.

The Hungry Horse News reports that skiers and snowboarders hitting the slopes on opening day at Whitefish Mountain Resort this Saturday will have access to nearly 100 percent of the terrain on Big Mountain, including Hellroaring Basin. This marks the first time in the 17 years since Hellroaring Basin had a chairlift that it will be accessible for skiing on opening day.  Read the full story here.