Tetons

At the mid and upper elevations soft and hard slabs to three feet in depth lie upon light snow, faceted snow such as surface hoar, and crusts. These slabs may be human triggered today on steep, wind loaded avalanche paths and not necessarily by the first person on a slope. At low elevations slabs to 18 inches in depth lie upon a well developed layer of surface hoar and could be released on steep snow loaded slopes and gullies. Yesterday afternoon the first avalanche fatality of the area occured in the Southern Tetons in the Pyramid area when a solo skier triggered a large avalanche that buried him under three feet of debris near the toe of the slide.