Avalanche forecast

Galena Summit & Eastern Mtns

Sawtooth Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

Sat
Alpine
3 · Considerable
Treeline
3 · Considerable
Below
3 · Considerable
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Out of date — this forecast expired 3 years ago. You’re viewing past conditions, not the current bulletin.

Highlights

Conditions are dangerous. You're likely to trigger a large, destructive avalanche on many slopes. Slides can be triggered from flat terrain a long distance from where they release. Smaller avalanches involving only the recent snowfall are possible, especially if slopes receive direct sunshine.  

Avalanche problems

  • Persistent Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Likely
    Size
    2–3

     Dozens of natural avalanches released in recent days, and the snowpack needs much more time to adjust to the several feet of snow that fell in the past week. You're likely to trigger a 2-4 foot thick, unsurvivable avalanche. Some of these slides will be powerful enough to destroy a house. The recent avalanches on the northern half of the compass are failing on facets and/or surface hoar. On sunnier aspects, crust + facet combinations exist deep in the snowpack and are also suspect.These avalanches can release in surprising ways. You can trigger them from flat or low-angle terrain long distances away from steep slopes, and they can break far above you. 

    If your primary goal is to not get caught in an avalanche, staying off of and out from below steep slopes is the move today.  

    (2/8/2024) These large, natural slab avalanches released near Durrance Peak on generally east aspects from 9400-9800'. 

    Photo: Sun Valley Heli Ski

  • Loose Dry

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1–2

    This zone received feet of snow over the past week. There are a few "new snow problems" to consider today:

    • You could trigger loose snow avalanches (sluffs) in very steep terrain. If the sun pokes through the clouds today, these slides could release naturally. 
    • Expect to find isolated, small, fresh wind slabs near ridgelines at upper elevations.
    • Observations indicate the past week's snowfall bonded well to the old snow surface on most slopes, but a couple professionals reported questionable snowpack test results and possibly some thinner slabs that failed on this interface. 

    All of these slides could run fast and far on stout crusts beneath the recent snowfall. These avalanches could carry you where you don't want to go and could trigger the deadly Persistent Slab avalanches described above.

Avalanche Discussion

Yesterday, Sun Valley Heli Ski staff observed a large slide near Ketchum that either naturally released or was triggered remotely from safe terrain a LONG ways away. We've observed dozens of large natural avalanches in the Smoky, Boulder, and Pioneer Mountains, including in the mountains above Ketchum.

Limited observations indicate the "epicenter" of the recent natural avalanche activity appears to be south of Prairie Creek and north of Hailey, centered around Ketchum, Trail Creek, and Warm Springs Creek. These areas had a thinner snowpack before the recent storm compared to the mountains farther north and west. So far, most of the recent triggered and natural avalanches occurred on the more shaded N-half of the compass, 

The recent storms were too much too fast for the fragile weak layers near the base of the snowpack, and this instability will take many days, or weeks, to "heal."

Before you head out today, have an honest discussion with your partners. Pick terrain you're comfortable with and, more importantly, terrain that you plan to avoid. Don't let powder sway you from this plan. Understand that even a low-angle ridge walk has consequences. Consider the very real possibility that a slide you trigger may affect an unsuspecting party below. 

Regions covered