Togwotee Pass

The General Avalanche Hazard is MODERATE. New snow has placed an additional load on a weak snowpack. Although snow near the surface is dense enough to support a snowmobile or skier, providing a feeling of stability, the lower half of the snowpack is unstable. On Wednesday a snowboarder triggered a five foot deep slide to the ground on a northeast aspect of Angle Mountain and a group of snowmachiners triggered a similar slide on a tree covered north facing slope near Sublette Pass. Similar events could be triggered today on steep slopes with a basal layer of well developed weak faceted snow. Unstable slopes may be crossed multiple times before a weak spot is encountered and the slope fails. The consequences of involvement with these dangerous deep slabs are severe.

( Discussion is generated from the previous day's afternoon forecast. )An artic airmass is moving into the region as a cold low pressure storm over western Montana moves southeast into northern Utah overnight. On Friday expect partly to mostly cloudy skies above valley fog. Temperatures will drop into the negative teens below zero overnight and rise to around zero. Winds will be easterly at 15 miles per hour. The general avalanche hazard is expected to be MODERATE. Soft surface slabs one to two feet in depth could be human triggered on steep wind loaded slopes. In the Continental Divide/Togwotee Pass and Southwest Trails/Greys River areas deep slab instabilities persist in addition to surface slab concerns. Dangerous deep slabs to the ground could be triggered on steep slopes that have a well developed basal layer of weak faceted snow.