Avalanche forecast

Togwotee Pass

Bridger-Teton Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

Wed
Alpine
3 · Considerable
Treeline
3 · Considerable
Below
No rating
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Out of date — this forecast expired 3 years ago. You’re viewing past conditions, not the current bulletin.

Highlights

Dangerous avalanche conditions exist. Human triggered avalanches are likely in steep terrain on most aspects and elevations. Avalanches can be remotely triggered and run long distances. 

Avalanche problems

  • Persistent Slabs

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

    Weak snow left from December is buried 1-3 feet in most areas on Togwotee Pass. This includes all aspects (sunny and shady) at just about all elevations that you may be riding. The Barber’s Point avalanche that occurred on Friday night or Saturday morning is a great example of how far these avalanches can propagate across slopes. Remotely triggering avalanches from a far distance is a possibility and avalanches might run farther than expected due to very weak underlying snow. Give steep slopes and runout zones a wide margin and remember that rising temperatures can increase the danger. Watch out for cracking and collapsing as you travel, but with this tricky snowpack, obvious clues do not always present and it’s possible to trigger an avalanche without seeing any clues of instability. A wide safety margin is your best bet. Increase your margin by riding low angle slopes, avoiding overhead avalanche terrain and giving terrain traps a wide berth.

    (1/20/2024)

    This avalanche occured sometime between 4pm on Jan 19 and 8am on Jan 20th. SS-N-R4-D2-O. East aspect at 9,400 feet.

    Photo: Matthew Tousignant

Avalanche Discussion

The last reported avalanche on Togwotee was Saturday. Unfortunately, in a zone like Togwotee with limited observations coming in, a lack of events on the website does not always correlate to stability. We can speculate that the snowpack might have begun to adjust to the latest snow load but it is too soon to draw that conclusion based on reported events. If you are wondering if there is a weak layer below you, dig down and find the facets, surface hoar or crust that I could almost guarantee is below you. If the slope you are riding collapses, that’s even more evidence of the current problem. 

Having the ability to navigate the mountains around avalanche terrain is a great skill to practice. As an exercise, download the map of whatever area you are riding in your GPS mapping phone app of choice and overlay the slope angle layer to practice your navigation. Avoid riding on or under orange slopes (greater than 30°). If you record and track your ride for the day, you can go back and evaluate your decision making and eye for slope angle by checking to see if your track crosses any avalanche terrain. This is a great tool for debriefing the day and determining where you were most at risk. Combine this with pulling out your cell phone inclinometer (or a compass) to verify slope angles and you will begin to develop an eye for slopes to avoid in elevated avalanche conditions.

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