Soldier & Wood River Valley Mtns

Today's combination of strong winds and new snow may build thin, stiff drifts in terrain exposed to the wind. In areas sheltered from the wind, generally stable avalanche conditions exist. Sluffs in the sugary surface snow are possible on very steep slopes at lower and middle elevations.

There are no well-defined avalanche problems in this zone, but here are a couple of potential hazards to keep in mind:

Wind Slabs: Today's weak storm will bring an inch or two of new snow and strong winds blowing out of the W/SW. This combination may build small but sensitive drifts in terrain exposed to the wind. Even without new snow the strong winds will be able to scour up some of the loose facets that are sitting around at the snow surface. Thanks to the strength of the wind, any drifts are likely to be relatively stiff. You may find them in atypical locations, such as in middle elevation terrain that is generally sheltered from the effects of the wind. Though these slabs will be small and isolated, they may be large enough to knock you off your feet and carry you through some unpleasant terrain. Be alert to the consequences of triggering one of these thin slabs if you are traveling in steep, rocky, treed terrain.

Persistent Slabs: Weak, faceted snow exists near the base of the snowpack. I was traveling in the East Fork of the Big Wood drainage last week (near the boundary with the Galena Summit and Eastern Mtns Zone) and saw evidence of many slides that failed on this snow during our last major storm (you can view my observation and avalanche report here). You're most likely to find this weak snow on shady slopes above about 8000' in elevation—especially in the deeper snowpacks near Dollarhide Summit towards the Soldiers. Triggering an avalanche on this layer is unlikely, but not impossible. You're more likely to find trouble on slopes with the following characteristics:

• Steep: slopes steeper than about 35 degrees.
• Rocky: slopes with variable snow cover due to the roughness of the terrain.
• Wind-affected: slopes where strong winds produced variable snow cover.

Loose Snow: The ongoing dry spell and temperature inversions have produced a thick layer of cohesionless facets on shaded slopes at middle and low elevations. As the snow surface turns to sugar, it becomes increasingly possible to trigger loose snow slides—sometimes called "facet-lanches".  Last week, a skier was knocked off their feet by one of these sluffs (observation). Once moving, this cohesionless snow can gain a surprising amount of speed and mass in very steep terrain. 

You can quickly catch up on what happened this past week in my latest Weekend Update video.