Soft wind slabs lie in the backcountry at the mid and high elevations. These slabs could be triggered today by backcountry riders and skiers, particularly in terrain near ridge crests or cliff areas where wind loading typically occurs. Yesterday a skier suffered injuries when he triggered an avalanche in the Spoon Couloir in GTNP. Events in similar extreme terrain are likely today. Careful evaluation of travel routes and the snowpack is essential. At low elevations, avalanches are unlikely and the chance for activity is limited to isolated pockets in very steep terrain.
Over the last several days, strong winds have blown from the northeast, the northwest, and the west. These winds have aided in the formation of soft slabs in steep avalanche terrain prone to wind loading. These slabs could be triggered with depths to two feet.
A weak disturbance embedded in northwesterly flow will bring another shot of light snowfall to the area starting Saturday morning. Overnight lows in the mountains will be in the mid-teens before rising into the mid-20s during the day. Skies will be mostly to partly cloudy. Westerly to southwesterly ridgetop winds will range from 15 to 25 miles per hour.The general avalanche hazard is expected to be Moderate on Saturday. In the higher elevations, skiers and riders venturing into steep, wind-loaded terrain could trigger pockets of wind slab up to two feet deep. Any extended periods of sunshine could increase the likelihood of triggering these slides on sunlit aspects as the day warms. Old, persistent weaknesses exist in the snowpack. Activity involving these layers is most likely to occur in the Togwotee Pass area where the snowpack is shallow, and the structure is poor. There, large slides could be triggered by the weight of a single person. In the Greys River forecast zone, failure of these deep layers might still be possible in isolate areas. Activity involving persistent weak layers is very unlikely in the Tetons.
