Avalanche forecast

Galena Summit & Eastern Mtns

Sawtooth Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

Sun
Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
1 · Low
Below
1 · Low
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Out of date — this forecast expired 7 years ago. You’re viewing past conditions, not the current bulletin.

Highlights

Triggering an avalanche on weak layers buried 2-4 deep remains a remote possibility on very steep, rocky, wind-affected slopes—especially at upper elevations in the White Clouds and Boulder Mountains. At mid and lower elevations, or on more wind-sheltered slopes, the snowpack is generally stable.

Avalanche problems

  • Persistent Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Unlikely
    Size
    2–3

    Persistent weak layers (facets and depth hoar) in the lower snowpack are widespread throughout the Galena Summit & Eastern Mtns zone. Triggering a large persistent slab avalanche has become unlikely, but you should continue to factor it into your decision-making in terrain with the following characteristics:

    • Steep: Slopes in prime-time avalanche terrain around 35-45 degrees.
    • Wind-affected: Heavily wind-loaded by past or recent wind events.
    • Alpine flavor: Complex terrain with scree piles, rocky ribs, and cliff bands help to create thin snow cover where weak layers are closer to the surface.

Avalanche Discussion

The Galena Summit & Eastern Mtns zone is riding the awkward middle ground between the deeper snowpacks to the north, and the shallower conditions to the south:

  • While early-season weak layers in our northern mountains are so deeply buried (5+ feet deep) that they are extremely hard to impact with your weight. These same layers of facets and depth hoar in the Galena Summit & Eastern Mtns zone are closer to the surface (2-4 feet deep) and are more easily affected by the weight of a skier or rider.
  • The snowpack further south is even shallower and weaker but lacks a widespread slab—one of the necessary ingredients for an unstable snowpack. 

It's been nearly 2 weeks since the last persistent slab avalanche was reported in this zone, and triggering one has become unlikely. But it remains a remote possibility in some portions of this zone—primarily in alpine terrain that is very steep, rocky, and wind-affected. The problem is most common in the White Clouds and on the shadier, upper elevation terrain of the Boulder Mountains.

Regions covered