Tetons

Very strong west-northwest winds and six inches of new snow (up to 18 inches in 48 hours)have formed easily triggered soft surface slabs up to 30 inches in depth on leeward aspects. Instabilities persist associated with deeply buried layers of faceted snow and November rain crusts. The potential remains for people to trigger dangerous hard slabs up to six feet in depth. The deep, hard slabs exist on a variety of aspects. Conservative decisions regarding terrain selection are warranted.

The mostly dry northwest flow may bring some isolated snow showers Monday evening but dry conditions will prevail after midnight and into Tuesday. Mountain temperatures will fall into the low teens overnight then rise into the low twenties during the day. Winds over the peaks will back to westerly at speeds of 20 miles per hour.The General Avalanche Hazard will be CONSIDERABLE Tuesday. Soft slabs to two feet in depth could be human triggered on avalanche prone lee slopes. Deep slab instabilities lurk in the depths of the snowpack but are likely to require larger triggers like multiple riders on a slope. In the Continental Divide/Togwotee Pass area weak faceted snow at the base of the snowpack has been the cause of several dangerous hard slab avalanches in the Angle Mountain area that have been triggered remotely by skiers and snowboarders. Other steep areas in that region have similar conditions and the new snow will make triggering deep slides by riders likely.