Tetons

At the mid and upper elevations dangerous slabs one to four feet in depth lie on steep slopes and are sensitive to human triggers. Poor visibility has limited the observation of avalanche activity however, a natural slab avalanche with a four foot crown was observed yesterday on a steep easterly aspect of Rock Springs Drainage just south of the boundary of the Jackson Hole Mountain Resort. At the lower elevations isolated pockets of soft slab up to a foot deep could be human triggered on very steep wind loaded slopes. Since the 19th of February there have been ten avalanche fatalities in the west. In our region there has been one fatality and several injuries. Skiers and riders who venture into steep terrain at the mid and upper elevations should expect to be seriously injured or die if they trigger an avalanche.

Increasing moisture in a northwest flow will bring widespread light snowfall to the mountains that will develop tonight and continue through Saturday evening. A couple inches of accumulation are possible overnight. On Saturday a couple inches of accumulation are likely. Temperatures will rise into the 20s. Winds will be westerly at 20 to 25 with gust to 35 miles per hour at 10,500 feet.The general avalanche hazard is expected to be CONSIDERABLE at the higher elevations of the Teton Range and in the Greys River/Southwest Trails area. Dense slabs up to four feet in depth exist in steep terrain and are sensitive to human triggers. The consequences of triggering one of these slabs are likely to be severe especially in big terrain features, cliff areas and above terrain traps. The general avalanche hazard in the Togwotee Pass/Continetal Divide area is expected to MODERATE. Humans who venture into steep avalanche prone terrain could trigger dense slabs up to three feet in depth and in some areas these slabs may have potential to step down into weak layers of faceted snow.