WINTER SPORTS — The calendar says its spring, but the snow keeps piling up in the mountains, inviting skiers, snowshoers and snowmobilers into continue their winter ways.

Go in a group, keep track of the weather and use your best winter travel sense – because you’ll pretty much be out there on your own. Despite more layers of new snow this week, most of the region’s downhill ski areas will close for the season on Sunday.

And the Idaho Panhandle Avalanche Center has stopped testing the snowpack and posting weekly avalanche advisories.

Kevin Davis, IPAC director, posted a summary of spring snow travel tips to help snow goers make good decisions on their routes through spring snow conditions.

“With a better than average snowpack we should be doing well on mountain travel until late June in places,” he said.

WINTER SPORTS — Winter has ended on a high note in terms of snow in the mountains, with a better than average snowpack that is still accumulating. 

Skiers, boarders and snowmobilers should find great spring riding well into June this year, said Kevin Davis of the Idaho Panhandle Avalanche Center.

BUT anyone braving the mountains during this wet weekend should be aware of the “considerable” potential for avalanche on the steep slopes.

Read on for the region's full avalanche advisory.  

CLIMBING – Karl Dietrich, an accomplished North Idaho mountaineer, will be presenting a slide show of his alpine adventures at 6 p.m., March 29 at the Laughing Dog Brewery in Ponderay, sponsored by the Idaho Panhandle Avalanche Center.

SNOWMOBILING — The last leg of their adventure following the Iditarod Sled Dog Race started smoothly as Bob Jones of Kettle Falls and Josh Rindal of Spokane left Nome, Alaska, to run back 250 miles to return a borrowed snowmobile at Unalakleet.

WINTER SPORTS — “Snowfall continues in the mountains and the riding conditions Thursday were superb,” reports Kevin Davis of the Idaho Panhandle Avalanche Center after his North Idaho mountains snow survey. 

” It was easy to figure out where not to go yesterday with the signs being easy to read.  Small natural slides on NE slopes and human triggered slides on south slopes told us to keep it off the steeps. 

“You might see these slides from yesterday but you probably won’t see slopes sliding naturally today.  You could, however, trigger these weak layers on slopes steeper than 35 degrees and the big stuff above 5,500 feet will be unstable where wind-loaded. 

“When it warms up this weekend, and it could get downright balmy, avoid steep terrain on any slope and stay away from cornices.  Great snow out there right now, just continue to be careful.”

Read on for the entire report for the region.

SNOWMOBILING — After celebrating their 1,100-mile snowmobile trip on the Iditarod Trail behind the Iditarod Sled Dog Race at two post-event banquets with dog mushers in Nome, Bob Jones and Josh Rindal are getting back in the saddle for a two-day, 250-mile trip backtracking to Unalakleet to return a borrowed snowmobile.

The video (above) is a clip from Tuesday's KHQ-TV interview regarding my blog on the intrepid irondoggers.

It's just one more leg of their adventure: two more days of traveling in bitter cold and camping in drafty trail cabins. Are they about done in?  No.  Jones said he wishes he could be starting all over.

“Spring makes fantastic snowmobiling in Alaska,” he said, “Even at 20 below.”

Read on for Jones's Iditarod diary for days 16-17.

SNOWMOBILING — After 15 days of mostly below-zero temperatures and 1,100 miles of Iditarod Trail that did-in one of their snowmobiles, Bob Jones of Kettle Falls and Josh Rindal of Spokane finally arrived in Nome, Alaska, on Sunday afternoon — in time to celebrate with the sled dog mushers at their race-end bandquet.

They had to negotiate a  notoriously dangerous stretch of wind-blown ice and scoot into town running on fumes for lack of fuel, but ohhhh what a reception:  They got in the food line to a winner's banquet of prime rib, halibut and a dog sled full of fresh strawberries, for starters.

But while Bob and Josh recuperate a day or two in Nome, their expedition isn't quite over.  Click “continue reading” as Jones explains in his Diary and photos.

Also: click here to see a photo gallery of the Iditarod Sled Dog Race.

Septuagenarian Bob Jones of Kettle Falls has chiseled into the frozen culture of arctic Alaska as he's snowmobiled 1,000 miles along the Iditarod Trail.  His diary and photos have been a highlight of my blog for two weeks.

Here's one of Jones's many observations from icy remote villages as he pushed through bitter temperatures:

“Cold weather is never a conversation topic among Alaska villagers. When it drops to 30 below, they just put on another layer of clothing and go about their business.”

Of course, it might be different if Alaska villagers had to come up with something quick to say on an  elevator lift to their office.

See Bob Jones's Diary and photos, days 1-6.

See Diary and photos for days 7-10.

See Diary and photos for days 11-12.

See Diary and photos for days 13-14.

See Nome Sweet Nome: Diary and photos for Day 15.

See Diary and photos for days 16-17.

SNOWMOBILING — “I'm too tired to even look at pictures,” snowmobiler Bob Jones said in an email from the tiny village of Golovin on the Iditarod Trail. (Additional photos will come later and be posted here.)   He'd just put in an 11-hour  day that extended well into the night to reach a place where he and Josh Rindal could get out of the cold for a few hours of sleep before continuing their 1,000-mile journey to Nome following the Iditarod Trail.

Despite a fierce cold and a major breakdown that forced them to find a snowmobile to borrow, Jones, from Kettle Falls, and Rindal, from Spokane, have an outside chance of making the Mushers Banquet in Nome tonight (March 18) — if they can make the last 90 brutal miles in one day.

“It will be a cold ride, just like today's was,” Jones reported. “It's -9º and breeze outside as I write this from the library at the Golovin school.  It's about +70º in here and my sleeping bag is only about 5 feet away on a pad on the floor.”

Then he crashed and slept like a bear in winter… until early the next morning when he filed his diary for two days (click continued reading below) and offered these additional updates:

Mileage: Nearly 1,000 miles so far out of a total trip that will reach about 1,300 miles if they return to Unalakleet as planned.

He had one final thought about his cozy quarters on the library floor before heading out in the bitter cold for another long day: “This is a beautiful school. Probably costs more on a cost-of-heat-per-kid basis than anywhere in the Lower 48!”

I replied to Jones noting that he was an ironman model for people older than 70. “I wonder what all the other septuagenarians in Kettle Falls are doing today?” I poked.

“Being more intelligent!” he replied.

Click “continue reading” to see Jone's Iditarod diary and photos.

Also: click here to see a continuously updated photo gallery of the Iditarod Sled Dog Race.

SNOWMOBILING — Chilled but not chilled out, Bob Jones of Kettle Falls and Josh Rindal of Spokane contginued their snowmobile trek along the Iditarod Trail even though the Iditarod sled dog race is is over and the winners have packed up for home.

“Zero degrees here last night with nary a cloud in the sky.  The most perfect day for traveling imaginable,” Jones said, indicating he was happy to still be on the trail.

“The sun is getting some power and sometimes we can feel the heat through our thick clothing.

“Machines are running fine and things are going great!”

On days 11 and 12  they continued to enjoy hospitality from natives with only a few stressful encounters with deep snow in the arctic cold.

Read on for more of Jones's diary and photos.

Also: click here to see a continuously updated photo gallery of the Iditarod Sled Dog Race.

WINTER SPORTS — Another week of tremendous snowfall in the mountains has created weak layers, with warming temperatures addding heavier layers to lighter layers of snow.  Sounds like a fancy dessert, but instead it's a recipe for considerable avalanche danger in much of the region, according to this morning's avalanche advisory from the Idaho Panhandle Avalanche Center.

“Careful route finding is necessary today to avoid steep slopes, especially where wind-loaded,” said Kevin Davis, center director.

Read on for the full advisory.

SNOWMOBILING — As fate would have it, the real adventure began 70 miles from any assistance behind the racers in the Iditarod sled dog race. As the temperature plunged to minus 32 degrees — nearly 60 degrees colder than the day they started out following the Iditarod Trail — snowmobilers Bob Jones of Kettle Falls and Josh Rindal of Spokane faced some arctic cruelness:

• The starter on Bob's snowmobile was falling apart.
• A clunking noise was developing in Josh's snowmobile.
• A friend died in McGrath and the town had to unite to dig a grave in the frozen ground.
• Fuel was $7.15 a gallon in McGrath.
• Bob and Josh had to drive over a dead moose in the trail.
• And then Josh's snowmobile developed problems that threatened to end the 1,000-mile expedition.

Click “continue reading” to see how the two ingenious adventurers saved their butts by hooking on to something a fisherman left behind in a remote BLM cabin.

Also: click here to see a continuously updated photo gallery of the Iditarod Sled Dog Race.

SNOWMOBILING — Snowmobiler Bob Jones, 72, of Kettle Falls was in Alaska this winter, once again following the annual Iditarod sled dog race with his son-in-law, Josh Rindal, who works at Fairchild Air Force Base.

We followed Jones's diary of ups and downs from the arduous trip on the Iditarod Trail as he reached several personal milestones:

• — His 100th Alaska visit.
• — A total of more than 20,000 miles following the 950- to 1,100-mile race from Anchorage to Nome.

Here's a wrapup story about Jones and his love-hate relationship with snowmobiles, but read on to follow his journey day by day.

Jones, a colorful guy with a gift for gab, is a familiar face in the remote villages along the race’s two routes since he began following the event by snowmobile in 1995.

“The first year, eight snowmobiles followed the route, and my Washington group had four,” he said. “One year, I was the only one doing the whole thing.”

He tows a trailer with gear for camping in bitter cold. Sometimes he stays in roadhouses.

“The villagers all know me and like me because I only stay a day, have a good time and leave,” he said.

Live the arctic life with with Jones by clicking “continue reading” for the first six days of diary posts from the Iditarod Trail, followed by links for Bob's take on the rest of the trip.

Also, click here to see a photo gallery of the Iditarod Sled Dog Race.

WINTER SPORTS — Despite the recent sunshine, good powder snow is lingering on north aspects in the region's mountains. Skiers, boarders and snowmobilers heading out to enjoy the late winter snow must be wary of several factors, says Kevin Davis, Idaho Panhandle Avalanche Center director.

“Be aware of generating some good sized sluffs and a weak layer 6-12 inches deep from Sundays snowfall,” he said in the avalanche advisory just posted this morning. 

“Exposed faces have firmer surface snow due to wind and sun.  Watch your terrain selection as the sun heats up steep sunny slopes today as this could create some stability problems as the surface layers heat up. 

“Deep surface hoar layer still showing signs of weakness and I think we’ll have to deal with this one for the rest of the winter. 

“Spring conditions could reveal some climax avalanches as the pack starts to go isothermal.  New snow comes in with wind starting Saturday night.”

Read on for the detailed report on snow conditions throughout the region, were avalanche warnings are moderate to considerable. 

WINTER SPORTS — Wonderful deep powder is calling all backcountry snow worshipers today, and the Idaho Panhandle Avalanche Center is recommending that you go and get after it — but consider staying on the lower angle slopes!

The best snow avalanche technicians found during the weekly Thursday survey was in the valley bottom where it was deep and light, said Kevin Davis, center director. 

“Yesterday was the first time I have ever gotten 2 percent water content snow on the scale.  Once up into the mountains we found scoured snow surfaces on exposed areas and, although we couldn't get to them, I imagine the wind-loaded areas are deep.  Snow was excellent in the trees.

“Don't be blinded by the incredible powder because there is a persistent weak layer that is now buried 4 feet deep with a firm slab on top.  This weak layer was the one responsible for widespread and large avalanches across our forecast region for the past two weeks.  It is more difficult to trigger now but if it does go it could lead to massive and destructive avalanches.” 

Read on for the complete region avalanche report.

WINTER SPORTS — Persisting weak layers, new snow, wind, changing temperatues — and more new snow forecast for the weekend — add up to warnings for backcountry travelers to use great caution in the backcountry this week, according to this morning's avalanche advisory from the Idaho Panhandle Avalanche Center.

“Tricky conditions in the mountains today due to weak layers of facets below a crust and buried surface hoar,” says Kevin Davis, the center's technichian who was out checking the North Idaho snowpack on Thursday.

“Avalanches triggered in these weak layers have the potential to be larger due to firmer windslabs in the upper pack on wind scoured slopes.  A Winter Storm Warning will be in effect this evening and continuing into Sunday morning.  The avalanche hazard will rise to HIGH due to the expected weather.”

Read on for the full avalanche advisory for the region. 

WINTER SPORTS — I'm working with other media to help get word out the avalanche conditions are dangerous throughout much of the region.  The latest of at least five avalanche deaths reported in the region in the past three days occurred Monday in northwestern Montana.

Two Washington snowmobilers were caught in an avalanche that killed a man from southeastern Washington.

The Flathead County sheriff's office says the slide occurred at 4 p.m. Monday about 12 miles east of Kalispell in the Lost Johnny drainage of the South Fork of the Flathead River.

Undersheriff Jordan White says 33-year-old Charles John Dundon III of Connell, Wash., triggered the slide as he rode his snowmobile across an open slope. Dundon and another man were caught in the slide, but the second man wasn't buried.

Dundon is the fifth person to die in an avalanche in Montana this winter.

AVALANCHE DANGER RATED HIGH

Today, the West Central Montana Avalanche Center upgraded the avalanche danger to “high” in the Rattlesnake, southern Swan and southern Mission mountains above 5,000 feet. The center said the ski patrol at Snowbowl is reporting that ski cuts are producing dangerous slab avalanches.

Bitterroot Mountains avalanche danger will be raised to “high” once snow starts falling, the avalanche center said.

In southeastern Montana, the Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Center rated the avalanche danger as “high” on wind-loaded slopes steeper than 35 degrees in the Bridger, Gallatin and Madison ranges, the Lionhead area near West Yellowstone and the mountains around Cooke City.

“Today is not a day to trifle with the snowpack,” the center said in its report. “It’s ornery and getting more dangerous as more snow falls and wind blows.”

WINTER SPORTS — Three people have died in an avalanche near Stevens Pass ski area, authorities say. Others who had been reported missing were accounted for today, the Seattle PI Online reports.

WINTER SPORTS — New snow this week has created good sliding conditions for skiers and snowmobiles. But The Idaho Panhandle Avalanche Center's weekly advisory cites conditions and areas of concern in the snowpack.

“The southerly aspects were a little firmer with suncrusts and shallower snow but the north aspects had a sufficient amount of new snow and the buried crusts were a little deeper,” writes IPAC technician Kevin Davis, reporting to today on his Thursday outing to test the backcountry slopes.  “So was the buried surface hoar.  You can't miss it on the north aspects where its standing proud.  It wasn't shearing easily yesterday but check it today on steep slopes.  Your main concern this weekend will be the new snow, Winter Storm Watch, loading buried surface hoar.”

Read on for the complete report.

WINTER SPORTS — The region's mountain snowpack is stabilizing, but snow-goers must be aware of a couple of weak layers, says Kevin Davis in the Idaho Panhandle Avalanche Center weekly avalanche advisory issued this morning.

Of the two layers of surface hoar, one has been buried for just over a week and has stabilized, but continue to watch it on northerly aspects, he said. The other just got buried on Wednesday.  Its not under enough snow to be a problem yet, although in the Cabinets it might be in places, but it could be a problem in the future, he said.

An avalanche workshop is being presented tonight,  6 p.m. at the Forest Service Building in Sandpoint. The Avalanche Center staff will review 10 years of avalanche accidents in North Idaho.

February and March are the most common months for human triggered avalanches.

Read on for the complete avalanche advisory.