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This has been a good week for powder hounds.

With the holiday week looming, the state’s first big winter storm was just what the ski doctor ordered for western Montana ski areas.

But for those who choose to ski out of bounds and in the backcountry, all that new snow is the perfect recipe for disaster.

The Flathead Avalanche Center issued an avalanche advisory for a widespread area in northwest Montana where the potent storm dropped upwards of 3 feet of dense snow on top of a fragile layer of hoarfrost and layer of rain-crusted snow.

The advisory urged folks who like to venture into the backcountry to be patient and allow the snow to settle before venturing out.

“Large and destructive human-triggered slab avalanches are likely on slopes greater than 30 degrees,” it read.

For those looking for a chance to hit the slopes of area ski resorts, the snow couldn’t have come at a better time.

“There are a lot of happy powder hounds here right now,” said Whitefish Mountain Resort’s Riley Polumbus on Wednesday morning, following a night that brought 8 new inches of snow to the mountain.