Backcountry travelers have the potential to trigger recently formed soft slabs as well as older, deeper slabs failing on faceted snow within the snowpack. Conservative snow pack and terrain evaluation is recommended.
Buried layers of faceted snow persist within the snowpack. Recently formed slabs, which lie upon surface hoar, could be triggered with depths to 18 inches. Older slabs up to five feet deep could also be triggered. Failure of deeper layers is most probable in high-elevation avalanche starting zones.
( Discussion is generated from the previous day's afternoon forecast. )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.
