Avalanche forecast

Togwotee Pass

Bridger-Teton Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

Thu
Alpine
3 · Considerable
Treeline
2 · Moderate
Below
No rating
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Out of date — this forecast expired 8 months ago. You’re viewing past conditions, not the current bulletin.

Highlights

Triggering an avalanche large enough to carry and bury you is likely on steep, wind-loaded slopes today. Stick to riding on slopes under 30 degrees to avoid triggering a hard, 2-4 foot thick slab avalanche. Cracks shooting off the tips of your skis means that you’ve found a potential wind slab avalanche.

Avalanche problems

  • Persistent Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1.5–2.5

    You’ll see old tracks almost everywhere following the holiday but don’t think that those tracks mean a slope is safe from avalanches.Weak layers buried two to three feet beneath the surface can fail under the weight of a rider. In some areas where wind has deposited snow, these layers could be up to four feet deep. Recent avalanches, like the one pictured that was triggered near Maverick, are good indicators that this kind of avalanche is a concern. You won't see a lot of avalanches or obvious signs unless you dig and look for weak layers. So far, avalanche activity on buried persistent grains have been on steep slopes and not triggered remotely.

     

    A rider had a very close call December 31, 2025. This avalanche illustrates the difficulty in pinpointing where you can trigger deeper weak layers. Note that this seems to be a shallow area, making it easier to trigger a weak layer.

  • Wind Slabs

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

    Look for signs of wind-loading such as drifts, cornices, scalloped or textured surfaces and areas that have been scoured to the ground. You'll find wind slabs nearby. The weight of these slabs may also make it more likely to trigger a persistent slab as mentioned above. Some fresh snow and wind in the past 48 hours has only added to this problem.

    Watch for shooting cracks as a clear sign of unstable, wind drifted snow. 

     

Avalanche Discussion

There are lots of terrain traps on Togwotee (steep, narrow creek drainages) that are easy to get sucked into on a snowmobile. It does not take a large avalanche to get buried in a terrain trap. Identify these features before riding into or underneath them. 

Observations such as this and this help us all gain a better understanding of the nature and extent of avalanche problems. Thanks for submitting those! You can submit your own through our website or even by texting the number at the bottom of every page of the website.

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