Avalanche forecast

Tetons

Bridger-Teton Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

Tue
Alpine
3 · Considerable
Treeline
3 · Considerable
Below
No rating
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Out of date — this forecast expired 3 years ago. You’re viewing past conditions, not the current bulletin.

Highlights

Recent snow and wind are creating dangerous avalanche conditions. Human-triggered avalanches are most likely in wind-loaded terrain but are also possible in areas that are more sheltered from the wind. Sticking to lower-angled slopes remains your best approach. Recognize that you could trigger avalanches from above, to the side, or below steeper slopes.

Avalanche problems

  • Persistent Slabs

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

    Though snowfall has slowed, continued wind-loading and increasing temperatures will keep this snowpack on edge.  The recent storm snow is settling and has created a cohesive slab in many locations, including some rare low-elevation terrain that happened to harbor older snow. You’re most likely to trigger a persistent slab where a stiff wind-loaded slab sits over recently buried snow left high and dry from November. Taking a peek at recent avalanche activity denotes a widespread, persistent problem on the old/new snow interface, now buried around 2 feet deep on December 1. Every slope harboring older snow should be presumed guilty until proven innocent.  

    Given the potential for human-triggering, it remains best to stick to lower-angled terrain. Conditions will be most dangerous on upper elevation slopes with evidence of wind drifting. Be alert to signs of unstable snow, such as cracking or collapsing—these are obvious indicators you've found dangerous conditions.

     

    (12/3/2023)

    Cave Bowl avalanche crown highlighted in red. The avalanche propagated several hundred feet across the slope.

    Photo: Noah McCorkel

Avalanche Discussion

Our snowpack is back, and though we're all champing at the bit for some "less dry" winter recreating, our forecast area has a complex, still-early-season snowpack with several prominent weak layers. The primary players on the menu include the following:

December 1st Facets & Surface Hoar:Thanksgiving brought some much-needed snowfall. However, dry and clear weather following the storm quickly turned this into weak facets. Widespread surface hoar growth was also noted before our most recent storm and is likely intact as it came in with light winds. This layer is prominent across all zones & has produced remotely triggered avalanches recently.

November Mixed Bag:A warm storm in early November left a fairly widespread crust up to 10,000 feet, and additional weak snow exists mid-pack. Though time has likely started to decompose this crust, some facets associated with it should remain suspect with additional loading. Some weak snow exists at the base of the snowpack, particularly on slopes where the overall snowpack depth has remained shallower. This layer is most prominent on heavily winded slopes and northerly-facing mid-elevation slopes.

Regions covered