Avalanche forecast

Salt River and Wyoming Ranges

Bridger-Teton Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

Fri
Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
2 · Moderate
Below
1 · Low
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Out of date — this forecast expired 4 years ago. You’re viewing past conditions, not the current bulletin.

Highlights

Four to six inches of new snow and wind over the past two days formed sensitive wind slabs that are likely to be easy to trigger in some locations today. Look for signs of wind drifted snow or stiffer, upside down snow on the surface, particularly in the upper elevations and near ridgetops. You're more likely to find soft and stable snow in locations that are sheltered from the wind.

You'll notice a change in our Weather table for the Tetons today which is a result of the hard work from dedicated local programmers and folks from the National Avalanche Center. Coming soon, you'll see similarly upgraded tables showing more weather stations for the Greys and Togwotee areas. You'll also now find data visualization tools from Inversion Labs, including avalanche events and the radial plot for backcountry locations here. 

Avalanche problems

  • Persistent Slabs

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

    Persistent weak layers continue to be a concern particularly in areas with a shallower snowpack or where buried surface hoar which grew last month is deposited. A human triggered avalanche was reported this morning which occurred at 9,800' on a SE aspect in the Wyoming Range about 5 miles ENE of Wyoming Peak. Consider cold, shady and sheltered locations where surface hoar cold grow and persist.

    (1/4/2023) This human triggered avalanche resulted in an airbag deployment. The party performed stability tests prior to skiing with no concerning results. The slope angle and terrain indicate that the weak layer was the buried surface hoar that is extremely spatially variable.

  • Wind Slabs

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

    Very low density (4-7%) snow fell over the past 2 days with a few inches more falling by sundown today. Light to moderate winds from the west and south transported this very low density snow into drifts despite the low wind speeds. Snow sluffing from cliffs and steep drainages may have also formed stiffer slabs.  You are likely to find wind slabs averaging up 1-2' thick today in those locations. These should be easy to spot, and avoid, near ridgetops or other areas that have been exposed to wind. It is possible that a fresh wind slab could reach down to a buried weak layer. 

     

    (1/4/2023)

    The crown of this wind slab was up to 3 feet thick and was intentionally triggered near a ridgetop in the Tetons on Wednesday. It is indicative of what you could find today in the upper elevations.

Avalanche Discussion

The persistent weak layers that were buried at the end of November and the more recent (and much more spatially variable) buried surface hoar appear to be largely dormant in most places. The exceptions are likely to be in steep rocky areas with variable snow depths or in places that have avalanched previously. All areas in our forecast zones now carry a moderate rating due to the diminished potential for triggering the widespread buried weak layers that existed earlier in the season. You could  probably still trigger an avalanche on those weak layers in isolated areas, but you'd really need to go looking for it.  Keep digging and perform stability tests if you want to step out into steeper terrain. A combination of settlement and rounding of grains has left us with more obvious avalanches problems to contend with in the near term but continued vigilance, particularly in the upper elevation zones, is necessary. The wind slab avalanche problem currently in play leaves a lot of room to find good, stable skiing and riding but the danger rating is the real deal. 

 

Join us in Idaho Falls tonight for an avalanche awareness event featuring short talks from local forecast center staff and a showing of "To the Hills and Back", an exciting film from the Utah Avalanche Center. Raffles, including Ronb Kincaid's sled, prizes and more! See our avalanche Education Events page for more. 

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