In isolated areas at the mid and upper elevations, some potential may remain for backcountry travelers to trigger persistent slabs up to two feet deep. The likelihood of triggering these slides will increase with daytime warming on sunlit aspects along with the chance of cornice failures. Avalanches are unlikely at the lower elevations.
Dense slabs lie upon faceted snow and stout crusts, which formed in January. Skiers and riders might still be able to trigger slides failing on these layers in very steep, avalanche-prone terrain above 7,500 feet.
Over the past two days, two cornice failures have occurred involving skiers and riders. The first was caused by a snowboarder on Little Tuckermans on Wednesday. Yesterday, a backcountry traveler broke one in the out of bounds off the backside of the Grand Targhee Resort.
Cloud cover will increase overnight and on Saturday ahead of a weak Pacific disturbance. Overnight lows in the mountains will be in the mid-20s before rising into the mid-30s during the day. Westerly ridgetop winds will veer to the northwest at 10 to 20 miles per hour.The general avalanche hazard is expected to be MODERATE on Saturday. In isolated areas above 7,500 feet, some potential may remain for backcountry travelers to trigger persistent slabs up to two feet in depth. If skies remain mostly clear during the day, the likelihood of triggering these slides will increase on sunlit aspects as the day warms.
