Avalanche forecast

Salt River and Wyoming Ranges

Bridger-Teton Avalanche Center
View on map

Avalanche danger

Sat
Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
2 · Moderate
Below
No rating
Open full map
Out of date — this forecast expired 7 months ago. You’re viewing past conditions, not the current bulletin.

Highlights

For the second night in a row, temperatures generally stayed above 30 degrees F. The avalanche danger will rise to Moderate when direct sunshine and warming temperatures weaken the snow surface.  Wet slides will be possible in steep avalanche terrain, especially in and under cliffs and rocky areas where peak warming will occur.  This type of activity will be sensitive to human traffic and could occur naturally.  Recreate early in the day and be out of the mountains before the snowpack becomes overly warm, wet, and weak.

Avalanche problems

  • Loose Wet

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

    Despite the warm temperatures, snow surfaces will be hard and frozen early this morning. These surfaces will quickly weaken as they are softened by sunlight and warm temperatures.  In steep terrain, a small amount of wet loose snow could fail on its own or by being impacted by recreationalists or wildlife. Once initiated the moving snow could entrain additional snow as it travels downhill. Some possibility also exists for the moving snow to trigger larger wet slabs.

Avalanche Discussion

The strange weather of the 25/26 winter continues. The last 2 days are seeming more like late March or April than early February. The way to manage risk is also the same now as it would be during a clear period in April.  If travelling in the mountains, get an early start to enjoy the nice weather and springlike snowpack and head home before the  risk of triggering a slide or being under a slope that could slide gets significant. Yesterday, several wet slides were reported to have been human triggered and to have released naturally. Go to the observation page to see some of those reports. All users of the avalanche center's information benefit from observations of the snowpack regardless of the danger level so thanks to those who submit and others are encouraged to contribute as well. The international danger ratings are not ideal for this scenario. The possibility of natural activity could push the rating to Considerable, however the probability that most of this activity would be small, the plainly obvious nature of the problem, the limited distribution and the fact that the snowpack is stable during the early part of the day all support the level 2 rating.

Regions covered