Salt River and Wyoming Ranges

At the mid and upper elevations, backcountry riders and skiers have the potential to trigger recently formed wind slabs in very steep terrain and the chance to trigger large avalanches involving old weak snow buried deeper in the snowpack continues.  Yesterday, skiers/riders had a very close call when they triggered an avalanche above a large cliff area just to the south of the Jackson Hole Mountain Resort. One person was carried over the cliff yet was not injured or buried. The area has a history of avalanche and traumatic fatalies, all involving people unfamiliar with the terrain.  Regardless of holiday excitement and an increased amount of backcountry traffic, recreationalists are urged to exercise patience,  and to look for and avoid terrain traps and areas that have recent wind loading compared to nearby terrain. The buried week snow layers in the Southwest Trails area continue to pose a threat of  large avalanches and the best way to avoid them is to make conservative choices and stay on lower angle terrain. 

The snowpack at Southwest Trails area continues to be the forecast area where skiers and riders are more likely to trigger large avalanches.  The weak layers are well preserved and enough snow has fallen there so that they are covered by cohesive slabs but not enough snow has fallen to "bridge" over that weak layer.  A single person can still trigger a slab avalanche. In a few lingering areas, the snowpack may be so sensitive that a slab could be triggered remotely before entering a slope while other slopes may apear stable after being tracked several times and then release when a weak spot is impacted.  Although the rating is Moderate, patience and restraint are still advised given the buried weaknesses within this snowpack.