Soldier & Wood River Valley Mtns

You’re most likely to trigger a large, thick avalanche on steep slopes facing the northern two-thirds of the compass, where the wind frequently blows or the snowpack depth is variable. In the eastern part of the zone, where the snowpack is thinner, your odds of finding trouble are greater.

Triggering a large persistent avalanche remains possible—especially in the eastern portion of this zone, where the snowpack depth is thinner. On Wednesday, we found a relatively shallow and poorly structured snowpack near Hydman Ck, and Zach said it well: "Although the problem presents as stubborn, it's still keeping us out of avalanche terrain in areas where we can affect the weak snow below... which is most places...". Yesterday in the Soldiers, Ethan found a relatively deeper snowpack than in the Wood River Valley. In these deeper areas, he expressed that a skier and rider are less likely to affect buried January weak layers. However, in wind-swept and weathered areas, the snowpack was thinner—making it easier for a skier or rider to trigger a slide. This information, accompanied by recent avalanche activity in the Wood River Valley,  on Patterson Pk and Sun Mountain, continues to give us pause about stepping into steeper terrain where a shallow snowpack exists. These avalanches occurred on shaded (NW-NE-E) aspects where the snowpack was generally shallow, less than about 4 feet deep.  Remember that tracks on a slope do not mean it's safe. Avalanches could be triggered after multiple people have skied the slope.