Tetons

Yesterdays gusty northeast winds redistributed available snow and created some new pockets of dense slab in atypical places. Human triggered slab avalanches are possible today in steep avalanche prone terrain and in the starting zones of active avalanche paths. These slabs are likely to be one to two feet deep but may have some potential to fail on deeper layers with depths to four feet in isolated areas. On Sunday afternoon a skier was caught and carried the length of the Double Dogleg Couloir in Granite Canyon. Similar events are possible today. These conditions merit conservative terrain choices.

Increasing moisture in a northwest flow is forecast to bring overcast skies with a chance of some light snowfall to the region. Accumulations of a trace to an inch are possible. Temperatures will remain in the single digits and teens. Winds will be northwest at 5 to 15 miles per hour.The general avalanche hazard is expected to be MODERATE. Pockets of surface slab one to two feet in depth are becoming less sensitive to the weight of a single person but still could be triggered by skiers and riders in steep wind loaded avalanche starting zones. Deeper slab with depths to five feet continue to be a threat especially to larger triggers such as snowmachines. These dangerous slabs are most likely to be human triggered in the Continental Divide/Togwotee Pass area. These deep slabs also have potential to be human triggered in active avalanche paths in the Southwest Trails/Greys River area. Deep slab releases are unlikely but a reason to seek conservative terrain choices in the Teton area.