Lawinenlagebericht

Sawtooth & Western Smoky Mtns

Sawtooth Avalanche Center
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Lawinengefahr

Wed
Hochgebirge
4 · Gross
Waldgrenze
3 · Erheblich
Unterhalb
2 · Mässig
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Kernpunkte

Conditions are scary. Natural and human-triggered avalanches are likely where the wind formed drifts or stiffened the snow surface. Triggering large avalanches is also possible in more sheltered areas. You may be able to trigger slides remotely—from flat terrain below, above, and to the sides of steep slopes.

 

Lawinenprobleme

  • Persistent Slabs

    • Hochgebirge
    • Waldgrenze
    • Unterhalb der Waldgrenze
    Wahrscheinlichkeit
    Likely
    Größe
    1.5–2.5

    Today is not the day to try to thread the needle and outsmart the snowpack. Triggering wide, 1-4 foot thick avalanches is most likely where wind formed fresh slabs or stiffened the snow surface. The storm and wind-driven snow buried a fresh crop of weak facets, surface hoar, crust-facet combinations, or crusts on many middle and upper elevation slopes. More deeply buried weak layers that formed during the extended Jan-Feb drought (facets, crust + facets, surface hoar) and produced extensive avalanche activity in the Smoky Mtns last week have not healed and remain suspect, primarily on NW-N-NE-E aspects above and below the middle-to-upper elevation transition.

    Persistent Slabs can release in surprising ways:

    • They can break above you and pull into relatively gentle terrain
    • Avalanches may be much wider than expected
    • You can trigger them from a distance—above, below, or to the sides of the avalanche crown

    How can we reduce the chances of finding trouble? Avoiding all steep wind-loaded slopes is a good start. Watch for cornices, smooth pillows of snow, and dunes and ripples on the snow surface, visual clues the wind has been at work moving snow. Recognize that avalanches are also possible in more sheltered terrain. Snowpack cracking and collapsing are clear signs of unstable conditions. 

    (2/10/2026) Natural slab avalanches on McDonald Pk in the southern Sawtooth Mountains. There are crowns under the cornices at the top of the photo, as well as under the cliffs. E and SE aspects 9,500-9,700'.

    Photo: Sawtooth Avalanche Center

  • Wind Slabs

    • Hochgebirge
    • Waldgrenze
    • Unterhalb der Waldgrenze
    Wahrscheinlichkeit
    Very Likely
    Größe
    1–2

    Whether a weak layer exists or not, the combination of heavy snowfall and strong wind makes human-triggered avalanches very likely, and natural avalanches possible, in windy, upper elevation and alpine terrain. These slides may not be as wide or big as the Persistent Slab avalanches described above, but some Wind Slab avalanches will be large enough to bury people. Additionally, they can trigger or "step down" to Persistent Slab avalanches as they move downslope. 

    Steep, wind-loaded slopes should be off limits today, regardless of what elevation band you are in. Avoid playing in areas with overhead hazard—areas below steep, windy slopes that lack dense, live tree stands. 

Avalanche Discussion

This storm favored the southern half of this zone, the mountains closer to Smiley Creek than Stanley. We expect avalanches to be larger, more widespread, and easier to trigger in the Smoky Mtns and southern Sawtooths than in the mountains near Stanley. 

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