Salt River and Wyoming Ranges

The general avalanche hazard is CONSIDERABLE at mid and upper elevations and MODERATE below 7500 feet. Several feet of new snow and strong winds in the past several days have created persistent, dangerous avalanche conditions due to weaknesses deep in the snowpack. Human triggered avalanches are likely. Restraint is advised as activities like high marking are very likely to trigger slab avalanches with depths to six feet at the mid and upper elevations. Large events could run full track and deposit huge volumes of debris in avalanche run-out zones. Periods of sunshine will make slopes more sensitive to triggers. A snowmobiler was buried in a slide over the weekend and recovered and resuscitated by companions: his current condition was not available. At lower elevations avalanches to two feet in depth could be triggered in very steep areas like ravines or near cliff areas. Careful snowpack evaluation, cautious route-finding and conservative decision-making are essential for safe travel today.

( Discussion is generated from the previous day's afternoon forecast. )Light snow will develop Tuesday evening and continue at times through Wednesday. Mountain temperatures will rise from the single digits Wednesday morning to the mid 20s during the day. Ridge top winds will be westerly at 20 to 25 miles per hour.The avalanche danger will continue to be CONSIDERABLE in the Tetons and Greys River areas Wednesday. As today's avalanche events showed the weak foundation of this year's snowpack translates to prolonged periods of instability after new storm events. Crusts, faceted snow, buried light density snow and periods of sunshine combine to create lethal conditions on avalanche prone terrain. Events similar to those on Tuesday should be expected Wednesday particularly with any periods of sunshine.The hazard is expected to be MODERATE in the Togwotee Pass area where two feet or more of storm snow sits on another two feet of very weak, faceted snow to the ground. Multiple people on a slope at the same time or high marking in snow machines are likely triggers for dangerous avalanches on steep terrain.