Sawtooth & Western Smoky Mtns

Dense, heavy snowfall, rain, and strong winds are overloading a very weak snowpack. Large, destructive natural and human-triggered avalanches are near certain to occur. Stay off of and out from below all steep slopes. Avalanches may be triggered remotely—from below, above, and to the sides of steep slopes.

SCALES OF SPATIAL VARIABILITY

Much of today's forecast is "painted red", showing HIGH danger. Does that mean every slope, cirque, or drainage in our 3200 square mile forecast area is going to behave the same? Heck no. On the broad scale associated with backcountry avalanche danger ratings, spatial variability causes avalanche problems and danger to change as you move from one location to another. Let's look at a couple of ways conditions may differ within and between zones:   

1. Within the Soldier & WRV Mountains zone: We view Avalanche Warnings and HIGH danger as "sledgehammers": blunt tools designed to perform a simple task. We avoid nuanced messaging when big, stomping natural or triggered avalanches are crashing down in the mountains.  A potential pitfall exists with the sledgehammer approach when a forecast zone has areas that are obviously meeting HIGH danger criteria (upper elevations in the Soldier Mtns and the Smoky Mtns crest/Dollarhide Summit area west of Ketchum and Hailey) versus areas that are still dangerous but lack the "in your face" natural avalanche activity (the mountains within a few miles either side of the highway between Ketchum and Bellevue, and the foothills in the Little Wood River drainage). If someone put a gun to my head and told me I had to ski or ride an avalanche path in this zone right now, I'd choose one as close to Hailey, Bellevue, or Carey as possible because 1) it snowed less  2) avalanches will be smaller  3) avalanches may not be as easy to trigger. A big caveat: I’d rather be forced to walk across Main Street in Ketchum or Hailey while blindfolded than ski or ride steep, consequential avalanche terrain near Ketchum.  
2. Avalanche problems/behavior between and within zones: In the Banner Summit area and northern Sawtooths, the weak layer of faceted snow that has been causing problems all season is now over 3 feet deep. Read the Banner Summit Deep Persistent Slab Problem Discussion for the good, the bad, and the ugly repercussions. Now, contrast that with the widespread natural and remotely triggered Persistent Slab activity over the past week throughout the Smoky Mountains.

We try to provide as much information as possible each morning, but it’s important to recognize that the Forecast products cover large areas; they are designed to serve as a starting point, and you get to make the ultimate decisions about how and where to play.