Avalanche forecast

Soldier & Wood River Valley Mtns

Sawtooth Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

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Out of date — this forecast expired 3 years ago.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

Highlights

Weak layers buried underneath dense, 2-4 foot thick slabs can produce large, destructive avalanches. You aren't likely to experience signs of instability with these deeper weak layers—the first sign may be the large avalanche you trigger. Choose simple terrain free of terrain traps to reduce your risk.

Avalanche problems

  • Persistent Slabs

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

    What is it? A very dense, 2-4+ foot thick slab stands over buried weak layers of facets or crust + facet combinations. While these avalanches are getting harder to trigger, releasing these destructive beasts is not impossible. Watch the video to the right/above to understand this problem better.

    Where is it? Most slopes harbor these layers. You'll find crust + facet combinations on sunny slopes and small facets on shaded slopes. We are still tallying up the historical amount of slides produced by these weak layers (map, list). 

    How can you recognize it? The first sign of instability may be the large, destructive avalanche you trigger. Tracks on a slope don't indicate it is good to go. These slides may break much wider and further above you on the slope than expected. Unless you dig down to confirm the weak layer exists, you might assume the snowpack feels good under your feet or sled. And if you take the time to dig down, don't trust the results of your stability tests. They serve little help when dealing with such a dense slab overlying this weak layer. 

    How can you manage it? The only way to eliminate your risk of encountering one of these devastating slides is to avoid avalanche terrain and terrain exposed to hazard from above. I know that's not satisfying to hear. You can reduce your risk by avoiding slopes steeper than about 35 degrees—especially large avalanche paths and those with ugly consequences if caught in a slide. Remember that even small slopes can have high consequences when dealing with very dense slabs. These slides can be triggered remotely—from gentler terrain above, below, and to the sides of steep slopes.

    ADDITIONAL DISCUSSION: You are more likely to find older wind slabs in the Dollarhide area, where more snow has fallen over the last week. These small avalanches will be isolated to ridgelines in upper elevations and further down the slope on the sides of gullies and ribs. Steer away from avalanche terrain when your skis or sled come across denser snow. These slides can be effective triggers for releasing a larger avalanche deeper in the snowpack. 

Avalanche Discussion

You can still go out and trigger the same catastrophic avalanches as in previous days. The underlying persistent slab problem continues to drive my terrain selection to be in simple terrain free of terrain traps and large features. It should only take a visit to one of the massive debris piles (refer to the Avalanche Database) that took out trees and barreled down through large avalanche paths to remind you of the consequences of triggering one of these sleeping giants. 

Be on the lookout for different generations of wind-loaded slopes in the alpine. These slabs are more problematic on the shady slopes after the sun likely cooked down any fresh snow yesterday. Moderate southerly winds will make easy work of moving new snow into thin, small slabs today.  If the snow pounds down faster and more than expected, be aware of growing slabs. Triggering these small slabs can add more weight to the snowpack as they move downslope. They can serve as fresh triggers to wake up the weak layers buried deeper in the snowpack. Move away from wind-affected slopes in avalanche terrain, where the snow is becoming deeper and denser.

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