Avalanche forecast

Togwotee Pass

Bridger-Teton Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

Wed
Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
2 · Moderate
Below
No rating
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Out of date — this forecast expired 3 years ago. You’re viewing past conditions, not the current bulletin.

Highlights

Snowfall and wind will continue to craft slabs at all elevations. New snow may also mask older wind slabs that remain sensitive to triggering. Look for evidence of wind, such as drifts, stiffened surfaces, or cornices. These spots also hold a higher potential for triggering a larger avalanche breaking deeper in the snowpack. Safer conditions can be found on wind-sheltered, gentle slopes.

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1–1.5

    Heightened avalanche conditions exist where the wind has drifted snow. These areas can be found on various terrain features and aspects and hold the potential for triggering a larger avalanche. The best way to find these features is to identify and avoid recent drifts and stiffer wind slabs on steep slopes. If you're traveling through thicker snow or see cracks around your machine or feet, you've found a wind slab. Wind-affected areas can be identified by pillowed drifts or dunes, cornices along ridge crests, running down sub-ridges, and/or stiffened snow surfaces. Snowfall amounts will increase today, but amounts on the lower end will likely not increase hazard significantly. 

    (2/12/2024)

    Heavy wind affect near Gunsight Pass

    Photo: Travis Baldwin

  • Persistent Slabs

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

    A new round of weak snow was buried on February 2nd. These weak layers are most consistent on the east, north, and west-facing slopes and have slightly less potential on southerly aspects. This interface is now buried 1-3 feet on average. In the last week, human-triggered avalanches have been reported on this layer. This avalanche problem can be remotely triggered from flat terrain or propagate widely across terrain features.  Shooting cracks or collapses are a clear sign of danger, but these obvious signs of instability will not always show themselves before an avalanche releases.

    (2/11/2024)

    Large recent natural avalanche on Togwotee Pass.

Avalanche Discussion

When snowfall is gradual but continual over weeks of time, the snowpack may not show us its cards. This puts us, as backcountry users, in a particularly low-feedback scenario. Avalanches occur, get covered up by more snowfall, are blown in by the wind, happen overnight, and are never seen. Understanding that we see a small spectrum of what happens in a mountain range on a given day or storm cycle is important. Even with so many user observations--which are helpful to the community and we are incredibly grateful for--many have a bias toward frequented locations. They may be less representative of deeper or less visited areas. Keep this in mind when making travel plans today.  Avoiding terrain with the following characteristics and giving slopes more time can help reduce your risk:

  • Windy. Is there evidence of wind loading? Does the terrain seem exposed to the wind?
  • Shaded. Nearly all recent avalanches have occurred on slopes with a northern tilt.
  • Rocky or visibly thin. Again, many of the recent avalanches have occurred in areas that are rocky or above cliff bands. 

Regions covered