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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Out of date — this forecast expired 2 years ago. You’re viewing past conditions, not the current bulletin.

Highlights

Today, it remains possible to trigger a large avalanche 1 to 3 feet thick on wind-loaded slopes above 35°. These avalanches could be large enough to bury, injure, or kill you. Watch for shooting cracks in wind-affected snow. Slopes around cliffs, rocky features, and steep gullies often harbor wind-loaded snow. Ride sheltered, lower-angle terrain to avoid this problem.

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

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

    Thirty inches of snow in the last 3 days and light to moderate westerly winds formed slabs up to 3 feet thick on lee aspects and in cross-loaded terrain features. This problem exists mainly above 9000 feet and is becoming more difficult to find. Look for drifts and thick pillows where you could see obvious signs like shooting cracks and collapsing. There is a chance that wind slabs could break deeper in isolated areas around steep, rocky, unsupported slopes and convexities.  Wind often deposits more snow around these terrain features. Ride sheltered terrain to avoid this problem and give terrain traps plenty of room.

    (2/10/2025)

    Recent wind slab in an exposed area. Watch for pillows on lee aspects. Shooting cracks are a good sign to move to more sheltered areas.

  • Persistent Slabs

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

    It is becoming unlikely that you will trigger a very large avalanche that fails on deeper weak layers buried up to 3-4 feet. Rapid settlement and increasing temperatures create some uncertainty on the reactivity of the new slab sitting on these weak layers. This problem exists at middle and upper elevations, where weak snow was buried during the first week of February. This layer can be found in pits and can still show propagation but is becoming deeper and less likely to be impacted. While the likelihood is decreasing, the consequence of triggering a very large avalanche on this layer remains high. There’s not much you can do to manage this problem except give yourself a safety margin around very steep slopes while the snowpack continues to adjust to the significant load we received over the last week.

    (2/19/2025)

    This large natural avalanche was noted on Nez Perce on 2/19. 

    This most likely slid during the last storm cycle and based on the depth, failed on deeper weak layers

Avalanche Discussion

Many avalanche accidents occur during Moderate danger - especially the day after dropping the danger level from Considerable. 

We got some visibility yesterday, and several large avalanches were observed, mostly above 9000 feet. Smaller naturals were also observed in wind-loaded areas at middle elevations. Those avalanches most likely failed during peak loading earlier in the week. It’s a good reminder that there are buried weak layers even though evidence is lacking in the more commonly skied areas. Patience remains important as the snowpack continues to adjust to the week’s storm. The Tetons received up to 78” of snow and 5” of SWE since the February 14th. We remain in a low-likelihood and high-consequence situation with good skiing quality (above the zipper crust that formed yesterday up to 8k), tempting us into more avalanche terrain. Consider the consequence of a large avalanche if the slope you want to ski avalanches. Evaluate the snow and terrain carefully. Dig around, take pictures, and let us know what you find out there - thanks!

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