Avalanche forecast

Galena Summit & Eastern Mtns

Sawtooth Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

Tue
Alpine
3 · Considerable
Treeline
2 · Moderate
Below
1 · Low
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Highlights

Triggering wet snow avalanches will become increasingly likely with today's first round of sustained sunshine since recent storms. Expect these slides to become large and destructive in big terrain, moving fast on slick crusts. Be wary if the snow you are moving through becomes moist. Pockets of wind blown snow can still be triggered in exposed, upper elevation terrain. Cracks shooting out from your skis or machine are a clear sign of an unstable slab.

Avalanche problems

  • Loose Wet

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

    Today will bring sustained sunshine to our snowpack for the first time since recent storms. It does not take much April sunshine to melt fresh snow. As the sun pops out and warms and melts the new snow, wet snow problems can quickly turn on. Most of today's wet snow avalanche activity will involve only the snowfall from the past few days, running far and fast on top of slick crusts from last week. However, the underlying snowpack is still saturated from intense rainfall on Wednesday and Thursday. Slides that gouge down into wet snow and flank out as slabs will be much larger, more destructive, and less predictable.

    Prior to this storm, we were most concerned with buried persistent weak layers in this zone. Many of these layers got wet from the rain and the snowpack is still holding plenty of water within it. Longer periods of sun will produce and flush meltwater down through the snowpack, increasing the likelihood of encountering wet slab avalanches. An observer near Bald Mtn in the Warm Springs drainage spotted a wet slab that appears to have released sometime Thursday or Friday when temperatures were warmer and significant meltwater was percolating through the snowpack (photo at right/above). 

    Conditions change rapidly in the spring. The snow can go from dry to wet in the time it takes you to eat lunch. If the sun is out, even for brief periods, spend a little time thinking about the snow you are moving through and the snow on the slopes above you. 

    (4/6/2024)

    Debris from a large wet slab that released in Basset Gulch near Baldy. This slide failed on a NNE aspect at 7,000', likely sometime on Thursday or Friday.

  • Wind Slabs

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

    You'll find 1-2 feet of recent snow at upper elevations here. A fresh batch of small wind slabs formed at upper elevations in this zone yesterday and overnight. Similar slabs that formed in the Banner Summit zone were easy to trigger two nights ago (photo at right/above). Slabs will remain reactive to your weight today, but should be small and relatively easy to identify and manage. Older slabs that formed at the start of the storm have had some time to bond, but you won't be able to identify them visually thanks to the new snow on top. You're much less likely to trigger one of these, but they are significantly larger than the most recent batch of slabs. 

    Help yourself identify and manage this problem by paying close attention to the snow you are traveling through. Conditions will change quickly as you climb in elevation and as you change aspects. The slope-to-slope complexity increased significantly during this storm, and the snowpack still needs some time to sort itself out. If you are entering avalanche terrain, you are accepting the uncertainty related to these changing conditions. Remember, skiers were triggering small wind slab avalanches in this zone at the beginning of last week, before all of the recent snow fell. 

    (4/6/2024)

    This thin wind/storm slab was intentionally triggered on a NE-facing slope at 8,900' at the southern end of the Banner Summit zone on Saturday night. 

    Photo: Ben VandenBos

Avalanche Discussion

Today will bring sustained sunshine to the snowpack for the first time since our recent wet and wild storms. There is a thick sun and rain crust beneath our recent snow at middle and upper elevations. The snow that accumulated on top of this crust has started to melt and bake on, but will be shed easily today when the sun returns in force. While it will take a bit of time for things to really warm up, once they do we will see quite a bit of shedding, likely lasting through the day and following the sun around the compass. Anticipate wet loose slides to become large and destructive in large terrain. Slides running on top of the crust will move fast and far. The recent snow has settled into a dense slab in many locations and these surface slides may flank out and have a slabby character to them. While this describes our wet snow problem, high rain lines and shifting rain/snow precipitation patterns during an intense series of storms last week leave more uncertainty in other portions of the snowpack. When you head into the mountains today you will find wildly variable conditions as you climb in elevation and change aspects. Read on. 

At lower elevations, the majority of the recent moisture fell as rain, with a few inches of snow at the tail end Friday and Saturday. The snowpack here has had some time to drain and refreeze and triggering large slides at lower elevations is unlikely. However, if you're encountering a wet, mooshy snowpack, think about the consequences of triggering small wet snow avalanches.

As you climb into middle and eventually upper elevation terrain, you will see snow totals increasing significantly. Most of our upper elevation terrain stacked up 2 or more feet of snow since Wednesday. Strong winds blowing out of the S/SE accompanied precipitation initially. Winds picked up a bit yesterday and shifted to blowing out of the NW. A new generation of wind slabs built in upper elevation terrain. These fresh slabs will be easier to trigger but much smaller than the huge slabs that formed on Thursday. The older, much larger slabs have had more time to bond and will be less likely to slide. However, at upper elevations where these slabs rest on weak surfaces like facets and crusts they may remain reactive. As a reminder: skiers in the Boulders (on Galena Peak and Lorenzo) were triggering small wind slabs at the start of last week, before therecent storms. 

Manage the complexity, variability, and unpredictability posed by our transitional snowpack by building a wider safety margin into your travel plans today. Pay attention to the snow you are moving through, the snow on the slopes above you, and the snow you will have to move back down through at the end of the day. Pay attention to how much snow is being melted. Be ready to step back from the plans you make, and have an exit strategy if things start to melt down. It may be springtime, but we are not at LOW danger just quite yet. The spring transition period is one of the easiest times to get complacent: the weather is friendly, but the snowpack still demands respect and attention. Don't take the sunshine as an invitation to turn your brain off. 

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