The possibility remains for skiers or riders to trigger avalanches involving weak snow layers that were buried in late November. Areas of unstable snow persist, particularly in very steep terrain and shallower rocky areas. Small and shallow wind slabs around a foot thick that formed in the past 36 hours may also be found around ridge crests at upper elevations.
Slabs can be triggered in very steep terrain features, such as unsupported slopes above cliff bands. These slabs could be soft or hard with depths up to 3 feet at the higher elevations. Though this avalanche problem appears to be on it's way to dormancy, continue to exercise safe travel techniques and look for this problematic layer, especially in steep and exposed terrain.
The weak snow from the mid-November dry period was buried by significant snowfall, starting Novmeber 27th, during storms in the past two weeks in the Tetons, and to a lesser extent in the mountain ranges of the Greys River zone. The snowpack has largely adjusted to this load and gained strength at middle and upper elevations. Avalanche occurrences have tapered off and have become limited to small wind slabs in isolated areas. Although this strengthening trend is evident, the weak snow layers still show a tendency, albeit a stubborn tendency, to propagate a crack in stability tests. The Togwotee area, along with lower elevations in the Greys and Tetons, has a shallow snowpack with poor structure and well developed facets. However, less snow and therefore less slab development has resulted in a less widespread problem until additional loading occurs.
