Avalanche forecast

Tetons

Bridger-Teton Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

Sun
Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
2 · Moderate
Below
1 · Low
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Out of date — this forecast expired 5 months ago. You’re viewing past conditions, not the current bulletin.

Highlights

Colder nighttime temperatures have improved conditions, but it’s warm again this morning. Safe travel on steep backcountry slopes requires a thick, supportable melt-freeze crust. The safest conditions will be earlier in the day when those crusts are firm.  There will be increasing potential for wet snow avalanches by late morning. 

Avalanche problems

  • Loose Wet

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

    Wet loose avalanches will become possible as surfaces heat up in the sun which should happen quickly today as clouds clear and sunshine starts melting surface snow. These dense sluffs can be trouble, especially in confined terrain or above cliffs. Size is dependent on how much solar input or radiant heat a given slope receives. Steep slopes near cliff bands are especially prone to wet snow avalanche problems. 

    Cornice fall remains a looming threat. Cornices can break further back than expected, so give them a wide margin. Limit exposure beneath large cornices as these can also trigger large slab avalanches. 

    (3/19/2026) This wet loose avalanche in Garnet Canyon was large enough to be a problem if you were caught.

  • Wet Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Unlikely
    Size
    1–2.5

    A solid overnight freeze is needed to take wet slabs off of the list of concerns. Weak snow still exists 2-4 feet below the surface and water continues to percolate through the snowpack. Today's forecasted high temperatures, brown, dirty snow and deeper snowpack layers that are weak should have you considering  this problem while planning your route. The most likely place to trigger wet slabs is on northeast and north aspects where meltwater reaches drier layers in the middle or lower snowpack for the first time. While this problem has become unlikely, we aren't entirely our of the woods.

Avalanche Discussion

Last night's freeze was not very deep or prolonged so some of the stability we gained yesterday morning was lost to some degree. Today's level of instability comes with a moderate degree of uncertainty; though wet activity is past its peak, the freeze night before last only penetrated the upper snowpack. Meltwater still flowed deeper in the snowpack yesterday, even when air temperatures were around freezing. 

Mid-elevation southerly and westerly slopes were removed from the wet slab problem since those slopes have generally been hammered down by sun and heat. Most all reported wet slab activity has occured on east and northeast aspects. The sun angle is increasing daily so remember that slopes in the shade last week won't be as shaded this week. 

Regions covered