Dangerous avalanche conditions continue to exist. Weak snow lies near the base of the snowpack at the mid and high elevations. Backcountry riders and skiers can still trigger slab avalanches involving snow that has fallen since late November that rests above the persistent weak snow. Failure of the weak layer can carry long distances. Yesterday two remotely triggered avalanches were reported. Another piece of Drew's Slide, to the south of the Jackson Hole Mountain Resort was triggered by a group on the ridge above the path, and the Great White Hump, north of Teton Pass, was triggered by snowmobilers from below the slope. Use caution in avalanche terrain as slopes are becoming less sensitive and therefore harder to predict. Failure of a slab could occur once a person is exposed in the starting zone, or even after it has been tracked several times. Avalanches at Low elevations are unlikely today.
Dangerous slab avalanches 2 to 4 feet in depth can be easily triggered at the mid and upper elevations by the weight of a single person. These slabs lie over weak basal facets and are most likely to be found on west to north to east facing slopes from 8000-9000 feet and all aspects at higher elevations.
A weak winter storm will arrive on Thursday. Light snowfall is expected to develop in the mountains by afternoon as the flow veers to the west and brings limited moisture to the Teton Range and the southern areas of Yellowstone National Park. Accumulations of 2 to 4 inches are possible by Friday morning. Daytime highs will be in the 20s. Winds will be from thee southwest at 10 to 20 miles per hour with higher gusts.At the mid and upper elevations large slab avalanches two to four feet in depth are likely to be triggered by the weight of a single person and can be triggered on slopes that have tracks. In this terrain the general avalanche hazard will be considerable. Avalanches are unlikely below an elevation of 8,000 feet where the general avalanche hazard will be low.
