Avalanche forecast

Sawtooth & Western Smoky Mtns

Sawtooth Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

Tue
Alpine
3 · Considerable
Treeline
2 · Moderate
Below
2 · Moderate
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Out of date — this forecast expired 2 years ago. You’re viewing past conditions, not the current bulletin.

Highlights

Triggering a very large avalanche is possible. Triggering these avalanches is most likely in wind loaded locations. These may be triggered by smaller avalanches, and where the slab is thinner.

Avalanche problems

  • Persistent Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    2–3

    Triggering a very large Persistent Slab avalanche is possible. Here’s what we know:

    • You're most likely to trigger one of these slides in steep terrain facing W-NW-N-NE-SE terrain
    • Yesterday, skiers remotely triggered two persistent slab avalanches, and we received more observations of booming collapses
    • Persistent Slabs can release in surprising ways, break wider than expected, and may be triggered remotely (above or to the side and hundreds of feet away from where they are triggered)
    • You may not receive any obvious warning signs before triggering one of these avalanches

    Additional Discussion: You may be able to trigger smaller avalanches involving only wind-drifted snow from the tail end of the storm (Wind Slabs). The biggest hazards these soft and hard slabs pose are 1) carrying you where you don't want to go and 2) triggering the much larger Persistent Slabs discussed above as the slides move downslope. Avoid large or consequential avalanche paths where the wind formed large or stiff drifts or slabs.

    (2/8/2025) This large avalanche was spotted by an observer on the west side of Gladiator Peak (W-NW aspects near 9000') on Saturday. The crown is approximately 1500 feet wide.  

Avalanche Discussion

Today marks the third day of pleasant weather after a week of near constant storms. If you're aiming for a three-peat of bluebird powder today, don't let complacency from a lack of obvious sings of instability over the past couple of days mislead you (like it did the Chiefs in their dream of a Superbowl three-peat last night). Yesterday, skiers remotely-triggered avalanches near Galena Summit and in Lake Creek while skiing low-angle terrain next to steeper slopes. We also received a report of a recent large avalanche in the Mt. Baldy backcountry that appears to be remotely-triggered by skiers. We continue to receive reports of booming collapses from around the forecast area.  All this points towards a complex and unstable snowpack that needs more time to heal. We're only a few days out from the largest loading event of the winter, and it's easy to forget about the lingering weak snow buried below.

You may have noticed the discussion for both Banner and the Sawtooth-Western Smoky zones is the same, but the danger ratings are different. The reason is terrain-driven, in that there are more large slopes with extensive wind loading in the Sawtooth-Western Smoky zone.

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