High pressure with cold arctic air will dominate the area through Saturday morning. Backcountry riders or skiers could trigger wind slabs on all aspects and elevations due to the recent and significant snowfall. These slabs will be more sensitive and larger above 9000 feet where the possibility also continues of triggering deep persistent slabs. Cautious route finding and conservative decisions are essential today.
Soft to hard slabs could be triggered in steep wind loaded terrain. These slabs could have depths of up to three feet at high elevations. Winds have varied from the southwest during recent snowfall to the northeast and are backing to the west today, therefore loading on any aspect is possible. Evaluate specific terrain features for this hazard.
Although becoming less likely, deep slabs remain a concern in avalanche prone terrain above an elevation of 9,000 feet on northerly aspects. The release of one of these large destructive avalanches, that could have crowns to six feet, is more likely with a large trigger, such as a snowmobile or a group of people. Previous tracks are not an indication of stability. Snowpack evaluation is essential to properly manage this concern.
( Discussion is generated from the previous day's afternoon forecast. )The arctic air dominating the area will cause very cold conditions on Friday, particularly in the morning when temperatures are to be near thirty below at the low elevations. Lows at higher elevations near fifteen below are expected. Northwest to west winds with fifteen to twenty mile per hour averages will cause wind chill values to drop to levels that warrant consideration before travelling in the backcountry. The avalanche hazard above 9000 feet will be rated as Moderate in the Teton and Togwotee pass areas and Considerable in the Southwest Trails/Greys River area. Recently formed slabs could be human triggered in steep wind loaded areas. These slabs will be more prevalent, more sensitive and have greater depths in the Southwest Trails area due to the nearly two feet of snow that was received there. There, slab depths could reach three feet while slabs in the other areas are expected to be a foot or less. The possibility of triggering very large avalanches involving the deep weak persistent layer also continues.
