Avalanche forecast

Salt River and Wyoming Ranges

Bridger-Teton Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

Thu
Alpine
3 · Considerable
Treeline
3 · Considerable
Below
2 · Moderate
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Out of date — this forecast expired 2 years ago. You’re viewing past conditions, not the current bulletin.

Highlights

Conditions remain dangerous in the backcountry. Avalanches are most likely on slopes with wind drifting but could occur in wind-sheltered terrain.  Very large avalanches have been triggered remotely in adjacent zones as recently as yesterday. Safer conditions—and the best riding—can be found on gentler slopes (<30°) sheltered from the wind.

Avalanche problems

  • Persistent Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1–2.5

    Weaker snow layers now buried 3-4+ feet deep have not gone away, but they've become less reactive to the weight of a skier or rider. Due to their depth, they've also become difficult to trigger with your weight except in shallower areas. New snow this afternoon may further stress these layers.

    Where: Terrain features and areas with a shallower snowpack such as around cliffs and in previously wind affected terrain. Very steep slopes over 35 degrees primarily on the aspects shown.

    What: Two to four foot thick slabs over faceted snow and depth hoar. Avalanches have been triggered remotely as recently as yesterday. These avalanches could bring down the entire seasons snowpack on you. 

    You can avoid trouble by steering clear of slopes over 35 degrees with a shallower snowpack. 

    Yesterday, a rider remotely triggered an avalanche in Ditch Creek in the Togwotee forecast zone. While relatively small, the avalanche failed at the ground and is a good example of this persistent problem type.

    One avalanche outside of the boundary at Grand Targhee Resort was triggered by a skier 3 days ago on this deeper weak layer. Fortunately, this person walked away unharmed. 

    (12/20/2024)

    This persistent slab avalanche was remotely triggered up Murphy Creek near the Stewart Massive on a NE aspect around 8300' on 12/20. 

    Photo: Bridger-Teton Avalanche Center

Avalanche Discussion

We visited the site of a very large avalanche yesterday which was triggered at the bottom of the slope. The slide propagated approximately 1500' and wrapped around numerous terrain features. There were no clear signs of unstable snow on Monday when the avalanche was triggered or yesterday when we visited though in good light you could see signs of old wind drifts and wind stripped slopes.  Reports of collapsing and whoompfing continue to be reported in other areas but not here. The only sure way to find this problematic snow structure is to dig. New snow today may add load and stress to this layer but colder temperatures and limited snowfall make it unlikely that one of these avalanches will fail without a human trigger. 

You can watch a video summary of the recent accident here and read the details here. While these persistent weak layers are creating a human triggered avalanche problem currently, the surprising nature of these potentially very large avalanches earn the elevated danger rating today.

Thank you to all who have contributed observations during this cycle. This allows everyone to gain a better and more complete understanding of conditions. You can submit observations and photos HERE or text 307-264-3050

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