While Montana continues to see limited snowfall at the lower elevations, that's not true in most of the state's mountain ranges, and forecasters are warning that avalanche dangers are starting to climb rapidly headed into this weekend.

Fueled by heavy snow at times during the holidays, falling on top of an early season snow pack that's been impacted by spikes in temperatures and occasional high winds, avalanche monitors are warning that backcountry conditions are growing increasingly hazardous.

And that's always a concern with more people likely to be out skiing, snowshoeing, and snowmobiling this weekend as they finish off their holiday vacation time.

READ MORE: Snow still sparse in Western Montana valleys

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Here are the latest Montana avalanche conditions

Northwest Montana has some of the highest hazards this week, driven by heavy snows the past week. Forecasters with Flathead Avalanche say the riding is "excellent" right now, but there have been a number of human-caused slides that show how unstable the snow is right now.

While the danger is listed as "low" up to 6500 feet, it quickly climbs to "moderate" at the higher elevations in the Whitefish Range.

At two avalanches have been observed in the terrain around Essex and Marion Lake, with the risk of slides at "moderate" above 5,000 feet in the Flathead Range and Glacier National Park, as well as the Swan Range.

West Central Montana

Forecasters with the West Central Montana Avalanche Center warn of a heightened avalanche range in all zones at the middle and upper elevations, with the risk of a large avalanche "failing" of 1 to 4-feet deep. Biggest areas of concern are around Seeley Lake, and the Bitterroot Crest.

People are being advised to stay on slopes of 30 degrees or less.

Gallatin forecast and Southwest Montana

The Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Center reports skiing and riding conditions are "5 star" right now, with more snow coming through the weekend, on top of the 3-to-5 inches that came down early Thursday.

35 inches have fallen in the Bridger Range over 3-days this past week.

However, forecasters say they're continuing to get reports of slab avalanches, with lots of "red flag" conditions and that will continue to be a problem until the snowpack stabilizes. They're also warning backcountry travelers to stay off slopes steeper than 30-degrees.

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