Salmon River Mountains

Conditions are generally safe where snowpack surfaces are frozen hard, and large avalanches are unlikely. As the day warms up, small loose snow avalanches could occur on very steep slopes. Continue to practice safe backcountry travel habits & give terrain near or under cornices a wide buffer. 

The name of the game today will continue to be those "spring-variable" conditions we all know and love. Below is a list of conditions that you could encounter, especially if your backcountry adventures take you to steep, consequential terrain:

• Snow may still be wet, even with cooler conditions. Last evening boded well for a hard surface refreeze. However, many days of partly cloudy skies and warm temperatures generally keep wet, unsupportable snow from refreezing very well. 
• Wet-loose avalanches should still be on your radar. Warm temperatures and mixed precipitation may loosen up refrozen snow surfaces and make triggering small wet avalanches possible, especially at upper elevations. Rocky terrain, sheltered from the wind, will heat up quickly if the cloud cover breaks for extended periods. Move to lower-angle terrain or cooler northern aspects when the top few inches of snow become wet and slushy, or when rollerballs signal deteriorating stability. With the warm spring we have had so far, expect deteriorating snow conditions even on upper-elevation northerly slopes by midday.  
• Cornices. Nobody likes these. They can break in surprising ways, even on colder days. I find that the best practice in spring is to steer clear of being too near an edge or under one of these features. 

If you're out in the mountains, submit an observation on our website or through the Avy App. Tag us #payetteavy