Montana
Scary Time in NW Montana: Enormous Avalanche Conditions
It’s been one of the most challenging winters in Montana for avalanche conditions. Weak early snowpack in several parts of Montana started off the season with a terrible base. Warm conditions, then large snow dumps haven’t made for a stable back country experience for most of the season.
- At the request of Flathead Avalanche Center Hungry Horse, Montana:
- AN AVALANCHE WARNING HAS BEEN ISSUED BY THE FLATHEAD AVALANCHE CENTER.
- The Flathead Avalanche Center in Hungry Horse has issued a BACKCOUNTRY AVALANCHE WARNING for the following areas:
- NWS Missoula MT – MTC 029 (Flathead County)…MTC 047 (Lake County)…MTC 053 (Lincoln County)
- WHAT…Prolonged warm, sunny weather is creating very dangerous avalanche conditions.
- WHERE…On and below steep slopes above 5000 feet in the Flathead, Whitefish, and Swan Ranges, and portions of Glacier National Park (the McDonald Valley and areas bordering US Highway 2 west of Marias Pass).
- WHEN…In effect from Monday 06:00 Tuesday 06:00.
- IMPACTS…Natural and triggered avalanches involving wet snow are very likely on both sunny and shady slopes. Hard slabs failing on deeply buried weak layers are likely.
- Overhanging cornices can break spontaneously, triggering large to very large avalanches on the slopes below.
- PRECAUTIONARY / PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…Travel in avalanche terrain is not recommended in the Whitefish, Swan, and Flathead Ranges, as well as Glacier National Park.
- Consult flatheadavalanche.org or www.avalanche.org for more detailed information.
- Similar avalanche danger may exist at locations outside the coverage area of this or any avalanche center.
This Avalanche Warning is in effect in all zones of our advisory area. Warm temperatures and sunny skies will produce large and deadly avalanches. Avoid traveling in avalanche terrain today.
Great Groups That Montana Rock Hounds Need To Know About
Rock hounding in Montana is HUGE! Almost everyone has collected rocks at some point in their life, and for those that still enjoy collecting or learning about geology, there are several active groups for you to join.
Gallery Credit: mwolfe
Montana Hiking Trail Etiquette: Dos and Don’ts
We have countless, wonderful hiking and walking trails within easy reach of town. But being a Montanan means caring for your surroundings, AND others. Keep in mind these trail basics while enjoying the outdoors. Safe hikers are happy hikers.
Gallery Credit: mwolfe
Montana
California woman sentenced for smuggling attempt at border in Montana
MISSOULA, Mont. — A California woman who tried to smuggle her husband into the United States through northwest Montana has been sentenced to six months of probation, according to U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme.
Tracy Routh Lautenslager, 54, pleaded guilty in August 2025 to conspiracy to bring an alien into the United States at a location other than a designated port of entry. U.S. District Judge Dana L. Christensen presided over the case.
Court documents allege Lautenslager entered the U.S. through the Roosville Port of Entry on April 1, 2025, then drove to the Swisher Lake area near Lake Koocanusa. Border Patrol agents later learned a man had crossed the border on foot nearby. Canadian authorities eventually apprehended the man, identified as Lautenslager’s husband, a citizen of Great Britain with no legal status in the U.S.
Investigators say Lautenslager admitted the couple planned to avoid the port of entry by having her husband cross illegally while she drove into the U.S. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Katy Stack and investigated by the U.S. Border Patrol as part of Operation Take Back America.
Montana
Miley Cyrus teases Hannah Montana 20th anniversary: ‘You see the bangs’
Miley Cyrus opens up about vocal condition behind her raspy voice
Miley Cyrus has revealed that she has Reinke’s edema, a condition affecting her vocal cords that gives her voice its raspy tone.
unbranded – Entertainment
Move over Miley Cyrus, Hannah Montana is coming.
The “Flowers” singer is revisiting her Disney Channel roots, donning the signature blonde look of the fictional popstar ahead of the sitcom’s 20th anniversary in March.
At the Annual Palm Springs International Film Festival on Jan. 3, Cyrus confirmed she is involved with plans for the milestone date.
“Absolutely. We’re working hard on them,” she told Variety.
While she said she couldn’t say more about what’s in store for fans, Cyrus pointed to her blonde hairstyle, adding, “You see the bangs.”
Cyrus starred in the series alongside Emily Osment, Mitchel Musso and father Billy Ray Cyrus, between March 2006 and January 2011, and starred in the 2009 feature film “Hannah Montana: The Movie.” Under the Hannah Montana persona, she also released multiple platinum-selling soundtracks and headlined the Best of Both Worlds Tour, which grossed over $54 million.
What’s happening for the Hannah Montana 20th anniversary?
The Grammy-winning musician first teased plans for the anniversary in a July 22 interview on SiriusXM.
“I want to design something really, really special for it because it really was the beginning of all of this,” she said. “Without Hannah, there wouldn’t really be this me.”
“It’s crazy to think that I started as a character that I thought was going to be impossible to shed, and now that’s something that when I walk into a space, it’s looked at as this sense of kind of, like, nostalgia or something that you have from your childhood,” she added. “So, that’s exciting to get to celebrate that.”
Will there be a Hannah Montana tour in 2026?
Cyrus has not announced plans to tour as “Hannah Montana” for the show’s 20th anniversary.
While exact anniversary plans remain under wraps, a tour seems unlikely, as Cyrus has previously expressed a lack of interest in touring.
During a May 2023 interview with British Vogue, the “Something Beautiful” singer added that while she enjoys performing for her friends, noting that “singing for hundreds of thousands of people isn’t really the thing that I love.”
Contributing: Edward Segarra, USA TODAY
Montana
Montana State’s Taylee Chirrick earns second straight Big Sky Conference weekly honor
BOZEMAN — For the second consecutive week, Montana State sophomore guard Taylee Chirrick has been named Big Sky Conference player of the week, the league office announced Tuesday.
The 5-foot-11 product of Roberts scored the game-winning basket with 1.7 seconds remaining to lift the Bobcats to a 71-70 upset of Big 12 member Colorado on Sunday afternoon at the CU Events Center. Chirrick finished the contest with 21 points, which included a 7-for-7 effort at the free throw line.
Chirrick once again stuffed the stat sheet, pulling down a team-best six rebounds, while adding four steals, three assists and a pair of 3-pointers in the victory.
Chirrick is currently ranked third in the nation averaging 4.5 steals per game, and her 27 total steals rank 14th overall. Her 19.8 points per game rank second in the Big Sky and 28th in the nation.
Montana State opens the Big Sky Conference/Summit League Challenge on Wednesday at North Dakota State in Fargo. Tip is slated for 6 p.m. (MT) in the Scheels Center. The game will air live on the CBS Sports Network.
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