Avalanche forecast

West Mountains

Payette Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

Mon
Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
2 · Moderate
Below
1 · Low
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Highlights

Watch for wind slabs 6-12 inches thick, above 7,500 feet. Wind slabs will be most sensitive near corniced ridgelines and steep rollovers. Pay attention to cross-loading. Triggering a 2-foot-thick persistent slab avalanche is unlikely, but not impossible. Identify areas in the terrain where persistent slabs exist and practice safe travel habits. As the March sun shines today, watch for loose snow sliding atop crusts on slopes that face the sun. 

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1–1.5

    The West Mountain zone has received 3-6 inches of snow (0.5" SWE) over the past few days. Strong winds have been blowing throughout this time. Winds have shifted from SW to W to NW to N. You may find wind slabs 6-12 inches thick on slopes above 7,500 feet. Wind slabs will be most sensitive just below corniced ridgelines. Look for clues of wind-affected snow, such as drifts, dunes, pillows, and freshly built cornices. Watch for signs of instability such as shooting cracks from your skis, board, or sled. If you're observing signs of a wind slab, find another aspect away from wind-drifted snow.

    Strong winds and local terrain features can alter the prevailing wind direction. This recent observation from Lick Creek identifies a wind slab avalanche on a cross-loaded slope. Pay attention to cross-loading and wind-loading on unsuspecting slopes. 

    (3/12/2026)

    Strong WSW winds were moving snow through most of the day above 7,000'.

    Photo: George Halcom

  • Persistent Slabs

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

    Triggering a large persistent slab avalanche is unlikely. Unlikely does not mean impossible. A layer of surface hoar buried on 2/14 now sits about 1.5–2 feet deep. This layer was responsible for many large avalanches over several weeks during late February. These persistent slab avalanches occurred mainly on wind-loaded terrain that faced NW–NE–E above 7,000 feet. You're most likely to trigger a persistent slab avalanche in steep, wind-loaded terrain where the slab is thin (think shallow, rocky terrain). Triggering a 2-foot-thick avalanche would be destructive with bad outcomes. This is the classic low likelihood/high consequence scenario.

    Signs of instability may be absent, and slopes with multiple tracks could still produce a large avalanche. Reduce your risk by identifying areas where this problem exists (upper elevation, north-facing, rocky, wind-affected alpine terrain, with slopes steeper than about 35°). Travel through this terrain should be conservative and intentional. Be especially careful where these terrain features overlap with terrain traps like trees, rocks, and gullies. Spread out and travel one at a time in avalanche terrain.

    (2/26/2026)

    Riders remote triggered this D2.5 avalanche near frog lake north of McCall on Thursday Feb 26th.

    Photo: Payette Avalanche Center

Avalanche Discussion

Yesterday's weather brought a little something for everyone. There was sun, clouds, wind, graupel, rain, snow, and more sun. New accumulation was localized and ranged from 1-3 inches (0.2" SWE). Over the past several days, the West Mountain zone has received 3-6" (0.5" SWE). Strong winds with shifting wind directions have been blowing for several days. Today will start clear and cold. As the morning warms and the higher sun angle works on the new snow, be heads up for loose snow shedding off rocks, trees, and cliffs on south-facing slopes. These will likely be small, dry point releases. If skies remain clear and sunny into the afternoon, loose snow could become wetter and pack more of a punch. This time of year, it doesn't take much direct solar radiation to get loose snow moving on solar-influenced slopes (E, SE, S, SW, W). Melt-freeze crusts are buried beneath the recent snow across a variety of aspects. Pay attention to loose snow sliding atop crusts on slopes that face the sun. 

Continue to hedge your bets today by carefully identifying terrain where persistent slabs may be lurking (steep, rocky, north-facing slopes, above 7,000 feet, that are wind-loaded). The only sure way to outsmart this avalanche problem is by avoidance. You can identify terrain where this problem exists and choose to avoid that terrain. You're unlikely to observe signs of instability, and previous tracks on a slope don't indicate it's inherently safe. With deeper, persistent slabs, snowpack tests may provide inconclusive results. Never base a go or no-go decision on one single point of data (i.e., one snowpack test). If avoidance is not your style and you're losing patience with the lingering, persistent slab problem, then you need to be intentional about how you move through the mountains. Safe travel practices are how we build wider margins of safety. Safe travel includes things like: checking to make sure everyone is carrying adequate rescue gear, spreading out and traveling one at a time on steep slopes, regrouping in safe areas away from runouts, identifying and avoiding terrain traps, and developing a plan with your travel partners. 

If you're out in the mountains, submit an observation on our website or through the Avy App. Tag us #payetteavy

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