Avalanche forecast

Tetons

Bridger-Teton Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

Wed
Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
2 · Moderate
Below
1 · Low
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Out of date — this forecast expired 4 years ago. You’re viewing past conditions, not the current bulletin.

Highlights

Despite little new snowfall accumulation, human-triggered avalanches remain possible.  Of particular note are the middle elevations from around 7500 to 8600 feet where more continuous weak snow layering has formed. It is possible today to trigger an avalanche that is 1-2 feet deep on both sunny and shady aspects. Assess the snow you are riding on and travel one at a time on steeper slopes, including treed areas in the middle and lower elevations. 

Avalanche problems

  • Persistent Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1–2

    Areas of faceted snow, crusts+facets, and buried surface hoar are widespread across this range and concentrated in the low to middle elevations. Field observations are consistently finding unstable conditions in snowpits, with failure and full propagation continuing several days after any new snowfall.  Currently, I have found that elevations below 7500 feet also have weak snow and poor snowpack structure, but lack enough of a slab of snow on top of this weak snow to produce avalanches. A larger snowfall will put lower elevations on the board for this hazard. 

    (12/4/2022) Large natural avalanche that occurred on Wolf Trap in the Tetons on an east aspect @ 8600ft.

Avalanche Discussion

The recipe for a persistent avalanche problem is pretty simple. I've found it on every aspect in the Tetons apart from due south in the low and middle elevations. This year, the added complexity seems to be the elevation bands at which weaker snow has formed. Avalanches failing on buried surface hoar and thick layers of facets in the middle elevations can be tricky; these avalanches are capable of pulling out into lower slope angles and happen in less obvious avalanche terrain that can seem sheltered and safer. Additionally, slightly warmer temperatures and time have settled the middle-elevation snow into more of a slab.  You can find this combination of slab overlying a weak layer that is less consistent (and thus less predictive) in its reactivity almost everywhere you go today. The slab of new snow that has settled is thick enough that the wind doesn't need to have done any work to build a slab—avalanches are possible in both sheltered and wind-affected terrain.

Regions covered