Avalanche forecast

Sawtooth & Western Smoky Mtns

Sawtooth Avalanche Center
View on map

Avalanche danger

Sun
Alpine
4 · High
Treeline
4 · High
Below
3 · Considerable
Open full map
Out of date — this forecast expired 8 months ago. You’re viewing past conditions, not the current bulletin.

Highlights

A large multi-day storm has created very dangerous avalanche conditions. Destructive natural and human-triggered avalanches are very likely. Stay out of avalanche terrain—avoid being on or underneath any slope steeper than 30 degrees, including in the runout zones of avalanche paths at valley bottoms.

Avalanche problems

  • Persistent Slabs

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

    A couple of unstable weak layers exist below 2-4 ft (50-130cm) of snow. Intense loading (snow + wind) during the multi-day storm is actively testing the limited strength of those buried layers. Avalanches involving these layers could be very large and likely unsurvivable.

    It is going to take a whole lot more time for the buried weak layers to adjust to the additional snow load. The most suspect locations for these crust/facet combinations are W-NW-N-NE-E-SE facing slopes at middle and upper elevations (near and above ~9000' in this zone). Slides can be triggered remotely—from flat terrain below, above, and to the sides of steep slopes.

    (12/17/2025)

    We experienced cracking and collapsing on multiple locations along Titus Ridge. This collapse + crack failed about 18" deep on weak facets buried in early December. ENE @ 9,500' on Titus Ridge, near Galena Summit. 

    Photo: Sawtooth Avalanche Center

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Very Likely
    Size
    1.5–2.5

    You are very likely to trigger 1-3 foot thick slabs in wind-loaded terrain today. The size and reactivity of avalanches will increase as you climb into windier terrain above 8500 ft, especially on slopes that face N-NE-E-SE-S.

    Wind slabs may be found near or below ridgelines, along mid-slope ribs (like the avalanche pictured), and on aprons beneath chutes. Cracks shooting out in front of your sled or boards mean you've found a sensitive slab.

    Avalanches could break wider than you expect, be very easy to trigger, and run faster + further where storm snow buried slick crusts, facets, crusts + facets, or surface hoar. Avalanches involving new storm snow will be dangerous on their own, but they also increase the chance of very large avalanches breaking on persistent weak layers buried deeper in the snowpack (Problem #1 above).

    (12/19/2025)

    Two SAC forecasters were caught and carried in this avalanche while ascending the slope. 

    Labels: Skier 1's starting location (1a) and where he came to rest (1b). He was carried ~30 vertical feet. Skier 2's starting location (2a) and where he came to rest (2b). Skier 2 was carried ~90 vertical feet, narrowly missing three trees. 

    They deployed their airbags and came to rest on the surface in less than a foot of debris. No one was injured. 

    Photo: Sawtooth Avalanche Center

Avalanche Discussion

The clouds may clear today, but unfortunately the avalanche danger hasn't. We've now made it through two rounds of this whopper of a multi-day storm and are lined up for a little breather today before another juicy pulse of moisture rolls in on Sunday. Don't let the relatively more pleasant weather lull you into a false sense of security today - it is still very likely to trigger a large and potentially deadly avalanche.

Yesterday, two members of our forecast team were caught off guard when they triggered, were caught, and carried in a small wind slab avalanche above the Baker Lake trailhead (click here for more information).  Fortunately, everyone is alright and the piece of terrain they were travelling on was relatively small. What's tricky about their avalanche is that it was triggered only a few steps off of a wind-scoured ridgeline with sagebrush sticking out. These consequential micro-terrain features can be challenging to read, especially during and after a big dump of snow and honking winds. The take-home we discussed while debriefing this near-miss was to build in bigger margins during these times of high danger.

There's uncertainty during ongoing storms, but here's what we do know:

  • Below the recent rain-line (~9000 ft), we're mostly concerned with storm-snow problems above a stout crust
  • Above the recent rain-line, we're more concerned with larger, deeper avalanches failing on buried weak snow

If you choose to go out in the mountains today, stay off of and out from beneath slopes steeper than 30 degrees, avoid traveling in the runout zones of avalanche paths, and let us know what you see.

Regions covered