Avalanche forecast

Tetons

Bridger-Teton Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

Fri
Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
2 · Moderate
Below
2 · Moderate
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Highlights

Avalanche danger will increase throughout the day as warming temperatures and sunshine destabilizes recent snow in the afternoon on steep wind loaded terrain and slopes facing the sun. Pay attention to slight changes in snow surfaces transitioning from dry to wet snow as natural and human triggered avalanches are possible. Plan your travels accordingly to seek cooler, shaded slopes before slopes facing the sun become unstable.

Avalanche problems

  • Loose Wet

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

    Today is the first day that recent snow will be exposed to full solar radiation with completely clear skies, in addition to temperatures above freezing across all elevations bands. Wet avalanches will be possible by the afternoon as east facing slopes warm first followed by south then west. Steep slopes facing the sun, especially around rock features that heat surrounding snow surfaces, will destabilize causing natural and human triggered avalanches. Small D1 avalanches will be likely while larger D2 will be possible if large amounts of snow push into terrain traps. Look for signs of natural avalanches, rollerballs, or pinwheels as clear indications of increasing avalanche danger.

    (2/24/2025)

    Avalanches with wet characteristics that occured earlier this week that caught and carried a skier.

  • Wind Slabs

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

    Old, stubborn wind slabs and density changes in the top portion of the snowpack up to a foot deep could become more reactive as the snow surface heats up throughout the day. These avalanches can occur while the snowpack transitions from dry to wet snow and are capable of breaking across a slope. Wind loaded terrain around cliffs, ridgelines, and confined features such as couloirs will be the most suspect. Stubborn wind slabs up to a foot deep could be lingering on shaded northerly slopes in the upper elevations and alpine. Look for stiffened snow surfaces, slight hardness changes, or rippled surfaces to identify wind loaded terrain. 

    Limit exposure on terrain around cornices as warm temperatures increase the likelihood of natural cornice falls. Be aware that cornices often break further back than expected on ridgelines. 

    Multiple small avalanches were triggered outside Jackson Hole Mountain Resort yesterday. An avalanche on  Breakneck required evacuation from Ski Patrol and TCSAR. 

    Small wind slab avalanches thay caught and carried a skier in complex terrain. 

Avalanche Discussion

Spring-like Transition

Wet avalanches are seemingly easy to manage if you build in larger safety margins by planning to avoid slopes warming as the sun moves from east to west across the sky. Transitional days when the snowpack is seeing the first significant changes from dry to wet snow typically creates the most instability of recent snow. Today wet snow avalanches can occur before the snow becomes completely wet or saturated, unlike once we enter a diurnal spring melt freeze cycle. Partly cloudy skies with cool temperatures yesterday kept many slopes cold and dry. Temperatures dropped well below freezing last night. Predicting exactly when slopes will destabilize today can be difficult. When in doubt, bail out and seek less consequential or cooler, shaded terrain. There's been a lot of close calls this week even with small avalanches.

Regions covered