Northwest Mountains

Human-triggered avalanches remain possible above treeline, particularly in the Ruby Range.  Slopes with signs of recent drifting are the most suspect.  Look for surface clues like rounded pillows of snow, fresh cornice formation, and smooth snow on leeward sides of ridges to help clue you into terrain with recent drifting.  Some drifts may be soft while others may be hard and stiff.  Make a thoughtful assessment of the snowpack prior to committing to avalanche terrain above treeline.  

The greatest avalanche hazard resides above treeline where you will find the deepest accumulations, widespread weak layers on the north half of the compass, and the most wind-drifted snow.  The spine of the Ruby Range in the Northwest Mountains offers the most terrain to recreate due to a deeper snowpack but also offers the most significant avalanche hazard.  Slopes that face north through east through southeast above treeline with wind-drifted snow are the most suspect.  Take a look at this observation from yesterday to see a few recent, natural avalanches to get a clearer picture of the terrain characteristics that should prompt you to evaluate the snowpack before you jump into avalanche terrain (pics also in the media gallery below).  All of those natural avalanches are leeward slopes, often with cornices, or were cross-loaded by the wind.  The chances of you triggering an avalanche on alpine slopes are slowly diminishing as wind-loading has ended and snowfall stopped two days ago. Even though the loading has ended, the newly formed slabs fell upon very weak, faceted snow surfaces which will keep the threat of human-triggered avalanches lingering.  A simple solution to the current avalanche problem is to avoid recently drifted alpine slopes and look for lower-angled terrain without signs of recent drifting.  

In the Southeast Mountains, the avalanche hazard is lower as compared to the Northwest Mountains for two reasons.  This is due to significantly less snowfall from the last storm and a generally shallow to non-existent snowpack in some places.  Drifted alpine terrain in the Southeast Mountains can still produce avalanches, but they will be isolated in distribution across the landscape and be smaller in size.  Over snow travel below treeline in the Southeast Mountains, like Brush and Cement Creeks, will be difficult or impossible due to lack of snow.