Salt River and Wyoming Ranges

The General Avalanche Hazard is MODERATE. Riders and skiers could trigger surface slabs to three feet as well as deeper slabs to the ground in steep avalanche terrain today where persistent layers of weak faceted exist. USE CAUTION as these slabs are extremely difficult to predict and continue to occur even after slopes have been crossed or descended many times. Local musicians will raise money tonight to support of the avalanche center as they play at the Mangy Moose in Teton Village.

( Discussion is generated from the previous day's afternoon forecast. )Clear and cold conditions are expected tomarrow with lighter West winds allowing temperature inversions to build, bringing mountain temperatures into the upper teens to low twenties in the afternoon. The general avalanche hazard is expected to be MODERATE throughout the region on Friday although differences exist between the forecast areas. In the Teton area, dense slabs one to three feet could be triggered in avalanche terrain on a variety of aspects by backcountry riders and skiers. The slabs lie upon a layer of surface hoar and faceted snow and could fail even after a slope is has previous tracks. In the CONTINENTAL DIVIDE/TOGWOTEE PASS and SOUTHWEST TRAILS/GREYS RIVER areas, the surface slab hazards discussed above exist. These areas also have a very well developed weak faceted layer at the base of the snowpack that involves aproximately half of the snowpack. This weak is snow is covered by a supportable layer that provides a false sense of security. Many full depth avalanches have been triggered in the recent weeks and the potential continues for them to be triggered on Friday as the snowpack has not gained strength. CAUTION IS ADVISED as both the surface and deep slab instabilities are difficult to predict. Many slopes have been ridden without incident while some fail after a slope has seen significant traffic and others fail upon approach.