Soldier & Wood River Valley Mtns

Look for thin drifts in exposed middle and upper elevation terrain. While small and isolated, recent drifts and slabs may be easy to trigger. Small, loose snow avalanches are possible on very steep slopes at lower and middle elevations.

Despite the prolonged dry spell, the snowpack here is around 100% of normal. Thankfully, the strong start to the winter was enough to endure the past 4 weeks of mostly dry weather. I pulled data from the SNOTEL weather stations near Dollarhide (here), Trail Ck Pass (here), and Swede Pk in the Little Wood (here). Check them out to see how we compare to the 30-year average. 

Very light snow flurries are clearing out of the area this morning. Triggering a large avalanche is unlikely, but here are a few problems to consider as you head into the mountains: 

Wind Slabs: Small, skier-triggered avalanches were reported on Monday near Galena Peak, and on Tuesday in Lake Ck north of Ketchum. Yesterday, cracking and collapsing were reported near Galena Pass and near the valley bottom along highway 75 near the headquarters of the SNRA.

These small drifts and slabs are proving to be quite touchy where they rest on faceted snow from the January drought. Keep your eyes peeled for textured, wind-sculpted snow surfaces, especially near exposed ridgelines. Although small, they may be large enough to knock you off your feet. Consider the consequences of triggering a small slide if you are traveling in serious terrain. 

Persistent Slabs: Weak, faceted snow exists near the base of the snowpack. You're most likely to find it on shady slopes above about 8000' in elevation—especially in the deeper snowpacks near Dollarhide Summit towards the Soldiers. Triggering an avalanche on this layer is unlikely but not impossible. You have the best odds of finding trouble on slopes with the following characteristics:

• Steep: slopes steeper than about 35 degrees.
• Rocky: slopes with variable snow cover due to the roughness of the terrain.
• Wind-affected: slopes where December and January's strong winds produced variable snow depths.

Loose Snow: January's drought and temperature inversions produced a weak, cohesionless snowpack on shaded slopes at middle and low elevations. As the snow surface "rots" and turns to sugar, it becomes increasingly possible to trigger loose snow slides termed "facet-lanches".  Last week, a skier was knocked off their feet by one of these sluffs (observation). Once moving, the cohesionless snow can gain a surprising amount of speed and mass in very steep terrain.