Soldier & Wood River Valley Mtns

You're most likely to trigger avalanches as you climb high in the Soldier Mountains or in the mountains above the South Fk of the Boise River. Before heading to these snowier parts of the zone, refer to the Sawtooth and W Smoky Mtns Forecast. Most of this zone lacks enough snow for significant avalanche problems. Travel in the mountains surrounding the Wood River Valley is difficult, and observations are limited. Daily Avalanche Forecasts with danger ratings will begin as access improves. 

A series of storms brought 1-1.5' of snow to Banner Summit, the Sawtooths, and the W. Smokys in the last 36-hours. While storm totals are not overwhelming, the load is significant, especially considering the generally weak, shallow snowpack it's adding to. While no significant accumulations are expected today, NW wind will continue to build slabs in exposed terrain.

Where the snowpack is thin, you'll find little to no avalanche hazard, but real-deal avalanche problems can arise quickly as you climb into windier terrain and as you wrap around to shadier slopes where the weak layers are at their worst. Today's a great day to keep it simple. The season is young, the snowpack is shallow, observations are limited, and we have a lot to learn. What we do know, is that the snowpack is generally weak where decent skiing exists, and it's shown its ability to produce large avalanches (video).