Avalanche forecast

Salt River and Wyoming Ranges

Bridger-Teton Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

Tue
Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
2 · Moderate
Below
2 · Moderate
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Highlights

The likelihood of human-triggered and natural wet snow avalanches will increase as the day warms and the sun melts the snow surface. Start early and move to gentler terrain or colder slopes as refrozen snow at the surface breaks down. Windier slopes may harbor cooler snow that will hold stability longer as the day warms.

Avalanche problems

  • Loose Wet

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

    Below-freezing temperatures and partly cloudy skies helped the snow surface to refreeze more solidly last night. Today's temperatures will be a few degrees cooler this morning than in recent days, and a cooling trend will round out the remainder of the week. The likelihood of encountering wet snow problems will increase through the day as temperatures warm and the intense spring sunshine melts the crust on the snowpack's surface. The pattern of avalanche activity will generally follow the sun across the southern sky—and may also extend onto northerly aspects as well. You can significantly reduce your risk of encountering a wet snow problem by monitoring the crust (or lack of crust if you venture out this morning and just encounter mush) and move to colder slopes or gentler terrain as this crust breaks down.

     Read the Forecast Discussion below for more details on wet loose avalanches, wet slab avalanches, and cornice failures. 

    (4/13/2024)

    Wet loose activity in a neighboring zone highlights what this problem can look like if triggered today. 

Avalanche Discussion

Spring conditions commonly follow a handful of rules, but as we all know, there are always exceptions with snow. Today, you are most likely to encounter wet loose activity. Still, some other players are worth mentioning.

WET LOOSE AVALANCHES: These slides start at a point, typically around near rocks or trees, and fan out as they travel downhill. If you are seeking out corn in very steep terrain before any surface crust breaks down, you may be able to trigger wet, loose slides that involve just the upper inch or two of soft, wet snow. These slides can certainly knock you into unwanted terrain and, though viewed as "manageable," can rapidly pick up steam once they start moving.

WET SLAB AVALANCHES: Oh, wet slabs. I've seen a rogue wet slab avalanche happen once after weeks of a melt-freeze cycle in a snowpack almost thoroughly consolidated to cement, so always keep these in the back of your mind when choosing spring terrain. These avalanches occur when water percolates through the snowpack and weakens the bonds at weak layers in the snowpack. They typically behave in a patterned way, with heightened activity with direct solar input and multiple days of not freezing. We haven't seen much wet slab activity during this warm-up, but our observations have been limited. 

CORNICES: Warm temperatures mean that these chunks of snow are continuing to experience melt from their lofty perches. If they break, expect them to entrain a significant amount of surface wet snow. As with wet slabs, the timing of cornice failures is unpredictable, but they will most likely occur during the heat of the day.

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