Avalanche forecast

Soldier & Wood River Valley Mtns

Sawtooth Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

Thu
Alpine
1 · Low
Treeline
1 · Low
Below
1 · Low
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Highlights

Mostly stable avalanche conditions exist, and large avalanches are unlikely. You could find small, thin pockets of windblown snow near ridgelines. This afternoon, small wet loose avalanches are possible on very steep, sunny slopes that are protected from the wind.

Avalanche Discussion

The danger is LOW, and large avalanches are unlikely. However, small avalanches can ruin your day in alpine or high-consequence terrain. We're not facing a single, well-defined avalanche problem, but there are a few things to consider as you head into the mountains: 

WIND SLABS: Watch for small, thin wind slabs in exposed terrain. They are few and far between in this zone, but a skier found one late last week in the Warm Springs drainage (photo and details here). While these slabs and resulting avalanches will not be big enough to bury people, the slides could travel quite fast on the icy surfaces beneath them on sunnier aspects. If the snow suddenly gets deeper and/or stiffer, you've found a wind slab. If you see cracks shooting out from your skis or boards, think about the consequences of being knocked over by a small avalanche before committing to skiing or riding the slope.  

WET LOOSE: Small, wet loose avalanches will be possible this afternoon in very steep, rocky terrain that directly faces the sun and is sheltered from the wind  As with the wind slabs described above, the primary hazard is a small slide knocking you over and pushing you somewhere you don't want to go. 

PERSISTENT SLABS: Weak, faceted snow exists near the base of the snowpack on shady upper elevation slopes, especially in the western half of this zone (Soldier Mtns and near Dollarhide Summit). Triggering a persistent slab avalanche on this layer is unlikely, but it's not impossible on slopes with the following characteristics:

  • Very steep: slopes steeper than about 35 degrees.
  • Rocky: slopes with variable snow cover due to the roughness of the terrain.
  • Wind-affected: slopes where December and January's strong winds produced variable snow depths.

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