Soldier & Wood River Valley Mtns

Mostly stable conditions exist, and avalanches are unlikely. Continue to use normal caution while traveling in the backcountry. You could find small, thin pockets of drifted snow in wind-exposed terrain.

Avalanche conditions are generally stable. It's been 6 weeks since we've received significant snowfall—one of the longest winter dry spells I can remember. The avalanche danger has been LOW in all zones for 23 out of the last 25 days! This zone will receive less new snow from today's storm than our northern zones—probably an inch or less. Certainly not a drought-ender, and unlikely to significantly change the avalanche conditions.

If more than a few inches of snow happens to accumulate, keep an eye open for fresh drifts of wind-blown snow. Any wind slabs that form will be thin and small but could be forming on weak facets or slick crusts. There is also a small chance of triggering an older wind slab formed by winds this past week. Evidence of these older drifts may be masked by today's new snow, but will likely feel stiff, hard, or "drummy" beneath underfoot or sled. New and older wind slabs will be most problematic in high-consequence terrain where getting knocked off your board(s) or machine, or getting taken for a ride by even a small slide, would be dangerous.

Be sure to catch up on what happened this past week in Scott's latest Weekend Update.