Avalanche forecast

Generally, stable conditions exist throughout our advisory area. Pay attention to warming temperatures throughout the day. The increasing angle of the sun combined with longer hours of sunlight and warm daytime temperatures will elevate the hazard of wet loose snow problems as the day progresses on slopes facing the sun.  Rollerball activity increasing as slopes heat up is a great clue that the snowpack is losing strength.  Wet loose activity is most likely on steep East, South, and West facing slopes that are warming through the day.  Rocky slopes or areas around rocky outcrops will accelerate the warming process. NW winds are gusting into the low 30 MPH range this morning but without much soft snow to transport, new windslab formation is going to be minimal.  Use good travel protocols and pay attention to changing conditions as the day warms.

Today's advisory is sponsored by CM Backcountry Rentals and Adventures.  Thank you for supporting the Payette Avalanche Center.

Our avalanche problems have followed the storms like a storm chasing Ikon pass holder in a Sprinter van this winter and diminished just as quickly once these fast-moving storms passed by.   Looking ahead to the next few days, we will be dealing with very warm temperatures and lots of solar gain which will increase daily wet loose activity on steep, sunny slopes.  Yesterday near Boulder Mountain we observed quite a bit of wet loose activity that had occurred over the last few days.  South facing and East facing slopes were wet and the upper 4-6 inches of the snowpack was saturated and loose by 11 am.  Surface conditions on these slopes is a mixed bag of stout crusts that were corning up, to thin crusts that were getting punchy earlier in the day than you would expect.  Warm overnight temperatures on Wednesday night and again last night did not allow for hard refreezing to occur in the upper elevations accelerating the thawing during the day. Notable as well was the abundance of rollerball and pinwheel debris in W and WNW terrain, this previously cold snow is seeing more sunlight in the afternoon and shedding snow on all steep slopes.

Things to keep in mind as you travel during the next few days:

• Wet Loose-it's February, the sun is slowly creeping further up into the sky creating a higher sun angle. What does this mean?  Slopes that have harbored cold snow through December and January are warming up as the sun starts creeping further north each day.  Temperatures are remaining close to or above freezing through more of the day and the next few days will see more of the same further warming even shaded northerly slopes.  Watch for warming temperatures and solar radiation heating rocks, cliffs, trees, and other objects that may shed snow or create a wet snow hazard.  Today is going to be slightly cooler than the last few days but just as sunny. Tomorrow and Sunday temps will climb back into the upper 30's and wet loose activity will increase as well.  Avoid steep slopes that are getting the double whammy of direct sun and warm temps.  Even small wet slides can push you into places you don't want to go, once you become entrained in them they are pretty hard to get out of.
• Breakable Crust and facet growth-next week's storm does not look promising for significant accumulations but the combination of widespread melt-freeze crusts and surface hoar growth is something to pay attention to and to catalog in your mental terrain map.  Slopes that have not seen direct sunlight are building what could be a very problematic layer when(lots of optimism!) we get back into a favorable storm track(Bring on the storm train!).

*** Check out our Observations Page to see what others are seeing...We are always looking for more Information from snowmobilers and skiers on snow and weather conditions. These observations help our forecasts and they help other users in and outside of the community.

It can be quick with or without a photo…Use the Observations link at the top of the page to submit your observations. If you experience any unfortunate technical issues please email us at [email protected]…Thanks 

***Motorized users, please be aware that there are some areas of the Payette National Forest that are closed to motorized use, some of these closures are to protect wildlife and some are to protect other recreators.  Check out the Winter Travel Map below for details

https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fseprd891395.pdf