Avalanche forecast

Galena Summit & Eastern Mtns

Sawtooth Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

Tue
Alpine
3 · Considerable
Treeline
3 · Considerable
Below
3 · Considerable
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Out of date — this forecast expired 6 years ago. You’re viewing past conditions, not the current bulletin.

Highlights

Dangerous avalanche conditions exist. Triggering an avalanche that fails on weak snow buried 2' deep remains likely on most slopes—especially in wind-drifted terrain. Avalanches may be triggered remotely—from below, above, and to the sides of steep slopes. Skiers and riders remotely triggered avalanches in this zone both days this weekend.

Avalanche problems

  • Persistent Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Likely
    Size
    2

    The slow loading of the December facet layer has produced a well-established persistent slab problem across the entire forecast area. Each major storm has produced a new round of avalanche activity, but last week's storm caused things to "go off" in this zone as many slopes finally passed their breaking point. 

    On Saturday, near Galena Summit, skiers remotely triggered a 1.5-2' deep avalanche from low angle terrain (photo below/right, more details). I visited the site of this avalanche yesterday and found a very similar snowpack to that observed in the rest of this zone. Yesterday, in Pole Creek, a group of riders remotely triggered an avalanche that buried the road they were riding on. This happened after the 4th rider had passed through. Keep in mind that it has now been 5 days since the last major loading event and we are continuing to see human-triggered avalanches.

    Conditions remain dangerous, and it's likely you'd trigger a large avalanche on most steep slopes. The best—and often only—way to manage the persistent slab problem is by sticking to lower-angled terrain. Given the possibility of remote-triggering, you'll also want to avoid being below steep slopes. 

    WIND SLABS: Periods of strong to extreme winds have been the theme for the past week. Yesterday brought more of the same. Although wind slabs are becoming less reactive to the weight of a skier or rider, these slabs are adding stress to the buried weak layer of snow underneath. If you do trigger a wind slab, it could "step down", failing on layers deeper in the snowpack and becoming much larger than the initial avalanche. 

    (1/16/2021) Avalanche on Galena Summit that was triggered remotely from 250' away on Saturday. The avalanche broke 1.5-2' deep in middle elevation terrain.

Avalanche Discussion

The snowpack is relatively simple in our region this season, but it sure isn't what we'd hoped for. I say that it is simple because it can be easily summed up in a sentence or two. A thick layer of weak snow that was buried in December forms the base of the snowpack. Snowfall over the past month gradually buried this weak snow, and it now sits beneath a 1-4' thick slab of snow. See, simple. 

The travel advice is also pretty simple right now. Avoid steep slopes where this weak snow exists, and lower-angle terrain threatened by avalanche hazard from steeper slopes above. Unfortunately, this weak snow exists on all slopes that haven't been melting back to dirt. See, also simple. And quite unsatisfying.

So what can we do? I'd challenge you to consider this a learning opportunity. Use it to learn about snow and the mountains where you live. There is an abundance of low angle terrain in our neck of the woods, something that can't be said in many places. Find a new spot to explore in the region and see for yourself. And while you are out there dig a snowpit and interact with the snow, you might learn a thing or two! 

Be sure to check out Ethan's Weekend Update from Friday. Spoiler alert—it was another wild week in our mountains!

Regions covered