Selway wilderness snowpack

[JoeG]

Anyone know the conditions of the snowpack up around stanley butte in the selway? Closest snowtel station is savage pass and its 40 some miles away. Planning a spring bear hunt up there and I am nervous about this mild weather we are having screwing things up.

Thanks a bunch!

Joe

 

[missjordan]

The snow pack is really low in general this year. I can speak for Stanley butte but I live in missoula so I can say the surrounding area is really bare except for shaded areas will hold the snow. Snow depth on Lolo pass is currently at 53 inches

 

[ivorytip]

pretty bad my man, plus with the warm weather we've been having the snow pack has really dwindled. we have had some good snow tho, higher you go the more there still is. eastern Idaho mts have done a lot better.

 

[JoeG]

Thanks a bunch, Stanley butte is up around 7000' and savage pass is around 6300', with savage pass reporting 57 inches of snow I have to imagine that stanely butte is pretty close to that. My concern is bears coming out of hibernation really early and either getting caught up in a possible significant march snowfall or starting to rub if the weather stays abnormally warm.

 

[tim]

the panhandle is 50% of normal. pretty pathetic winter.

 

[ivorytip]

they've already started coming out. Yellowstone park is already seeing bear activity. this warm weather looks to be sticking around, this weekend its going to get back to normal for just a few days though, then upper 40 and 50's again. im sure we will be getting some late march early june snow storms though, always do, but this year has been so weird. already catching spawning cuts on a river that should be froze over still. did I mention they were spawning????? crazy warm weather has really messed with nature this year. made for epic fishing tho!!!!

 

[JoeG]

Yeah I saw that some grizzlies have already come out of hibernation in yellowstone. I worry that the bears will be out but still to much snow to access the high country for the time frame I plan to hunt. Even if all the bears have broke hibernation by mid may or so I bet some of the roads up to the high country will still be drifted in especially if we get an significant march/april snowfall.

 

[ivorytip]

yeah its pretty crazy how fast it all changes. a few years ago I was back in above palisades to get some baits going, I had on my snow shoes because snow was still deep but I had cut tracks. 4 days later I was headed back up with my brother and told him how deep the snow still was and when we got there the snow was gone! amazing what a few nights that stay above freezing can do. if you get up to where there is to much snow to drive get out and find a creek or some open hillsides and try to find some activity down low, im always amazed at how low those bears come down in spring.