Avalanche forecast

Galena Summit & Eastern Mtns

Sawtooth Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

Mon
Alpine
4 · High
Treeline
4 · High
Below
3 · Considerable
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Out of date — this forecast expired 8 months ago. You’re viewing past conditions, not the current bulletin.

Highlights

Very dangerous avalanche conditions exist today. Destructive natural and human-triggered avalanches are very likely. Stay out of avalanche terrain—avoid being on or underneath any steep slope. Avalanches may reach the valley bottoms.

Avalanche problems

  • Persistent Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Very Likely
    Size
    2–3

    A couple of unstable weak layers exist below 2-4 ft (50-130cm) of snow. Intense loading (snow + wind) during the multi-day storm is actively testing the limited strength of those buried layers. Avalanches involving these layers could be very large and likely unsurvivable.

    It is going to take a whole lot more time for the buried weak layers to adjust to the additional snow load. The most suspect locations for these crust/facet combinations are W-NW-N-NE-E-SE facing slopes at middle and upper elevations (near and above ~8500' in this zone). Slides can be triggered remotely—from flat terrain below, above, and to the sides of steep slopes.

    (12/20/2025)

    A very large natural avalanche on Gladiator Peak.

  • Storm Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Very Likely
    Size
    1.5–2.5

    You are very likely to trigger 1-3 foot thick slabs in both sheltered and wind-loaded terrain today. The size and reactivity of avalanches will increase as you climb into windier terrain above 8500 ft. Avalanches could release naturally, and cornices may fail, triggering slabs on the slopes below.

    Cracks shooting out in front of your sled or boards mean you've found a sensitive slab.

    Avalanches could break wider than you expect, be very easy to trigger, and run faster + further where storm snow buried slick crusts, facets, crusts + facets, or surface hoar. Avalanches involving new storm snow will be dangerous on their own, but they also increase the chance of very large avalanches breaking on persistent weak layers buried deeper in the snowpack (Problem #1 above).

    (12/19/2025)

    Two SAC forecasters were caught and carried in this avalanche while ascending the slope. 

    Labels: Skier 1's starting location (1a) and where he came to rest (1b). He was carried ~30 vertical feet. Skier 2's starting location (2a) and where he came to rest (2b). Skier 2 was carried ~90 vertical feet, narrowly missing three trees. 

    They deployed their airbags and came to rest on the surface in less than a foot of debris. No one was injured. 

    Photo: Sawtooth Avalanche Center

Avalanche Discussion

We're back for another round of this hefty holiday storm, and it's coming out swinging today. The Galena Summit & Eastern Mountains zone is expected to receive 2-3" of SWE (15-25" of snow) over the next 24 hours. Expect natural avalanche activity to peak tonight as the rain/snow lines rise and rapidly deteriorate the snowpack's tenuous remaining stability.

Yesterday, many folks capitalized on the clear skies to get out into the mountains, and nearly every report we received included observing big thunderous collapses, long-running cracks, and evidence of a widespread, large avalanche cycle. We're not out of the woods yet, so if you choose to go out in the mountains today, please play it safe.

On Friday, two members of our forecast team were caught off guard when they triggered, were caught, and carried in a small wind slab avalanche above the Baker Lake trailhead (click here for more information).  Fortunately, everyone is alright and the piece of terrain they were travelling on was relatively small. What's tricky about their avalanche is that it was triggered only a few steps off of a wind-scoured ridgeline with sagebrush sticking out. These consequential micro-terrain features can be challenging to read, especially during and after a big dump of snow and honking winds. The take-home we discussed while debriefing this near-miss was to build in bigger margins during these times of high danger.

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