Tetons

The General Avalanche Hazard is MODERATE at Mid and Upper elevations and LOW at Lower elevations. Older surface slabs up to two feet in depth rest on buried surface hoar and suncrusts in steep areas. Starting slides will require larger triggers: more than one person on a slope or the third or later traveler. Use good route finding and stability evaluation skills. Avalanches are unlikely in the shallow snowpack at lower elevations.

A dry, northwest flow will continue with a chance of light flurries from occasional pulses of embedded moisture. Inversions will steepen and 10,000 foot temperatures will rise into the upper twenties Tuesday. Ridge crest winds will be brisk from the Northwest at 20 to 30 miles per hour.The General Avalanche Hazard in the TETON area will continue MODERATE on Tuesday. The possibility of backcountry travelers triggering surface slabs one to two feet in depth persists on steep, wind loaded slopes. The General Avalanche Hazard in the CONTINENTAL DIVIDE/TOGWOTEE PASS and SOUTHWEST TRAILS/GREYS RIVER areas will be MODERATE. In addition to the possibility of triggering surface slabs similar to those in the Teton area, persistent deep slab instabilities lurk. These supportable slabs, which conceal a base of weak, well-developed faceted snow, can give backcountry travelers a false sense of security. Yet another person triggered a deep, hard slab avalanche on the south side of East Angle Mountain Sunday. The person skied into a safe zone as the slide passed by from above. Similar slides can be expected in avlalanche terrain Tuesday. Stay in areas with trees or travel on ridge crests. A varied snowpack has developed in Western Wyoming and CAUTION IS ADVISED. Both the surface slab and the deep slab problems that confront backcountry travelers this season can be difficult to predict. Over the past few weeks, numerous instances have occurred where slopes have failed after seeing significant traffic, while similar slopes have been used heavily without incidence. Avalanche events have also been triggered remotely or on approach.