Recent new snow lies upon firm old snow surfaces. Loose snow slides involving this new snow and isolated pockets of soft slab up to a foot in depth could be triggered by skiers and riders in steep terrain. On steep northerly aspects above an elevation of 9,000 feet, hard slab avalanches could be triggered by the weight of a single person.
Skiers and riders venturing onto steep, north facing slopes above 9,000 feet could trigger hard slab avalanches with crown depths up to three feet deep. Suspect locations are steep, rocky slopes where faceted snow persists at the base of the snowpack.
( Discussion is generated from the previous day's afternoon forecast. )Cloud cover will increase and light snow will develop before midnight and bring up to three inches of new snow to the higher elevations before dawn. On Wednesday skies will be mostly cloudy with decreasing light snowfall and an inch or so of additional new snow accumulation. Temperatures will be in the teens and 20s. Winds will continue to be light from the south to southwest.The general avalanche hazard is expected to be LOW in all areas except the upper elevations of the Togwotee Pass/Continental Divide Trails area where the hazard will be MODERATE. In that area hard slab avalanches, up to three feet in depth, could be human triggered in isolated areas on steep northerly aspects above an elevation of 9,000 feet. In the other areas avalanche activity is anticipated to be limited to loose snow sluffs and isolated pockets of shallow soft slab that involve the recent new snow.
