Togwotee Pass

The General Avalanche Hazard is MODERATE. Two avalanche event are possible. First, surface slabs one to three feet in depth, which rest on suncrusts and buried surface hoar, remain susceptible to human triggers. Sunday a snowboarder triggered a slide on the south side of Angle Mountain(the latest of several slides on Angle Mountain). The slide stepped down into deeper snow which is the second concern: Deep, hard slab avalanches. They are most likely in areas that have a shallow snowpack. In such areas weak, faceted snow lies beneath a supportable upper snow layer, which can give a false sense of security. Saturday, two snowmobilers triggered and were partially buried by a slide on an easterly aspect at 8500 feet in the Snake River Range. Other similar events have occurred over the past few days and remain possible today. The consequences of being caught in one of these difficult to predict slides are severe, and caution is warranted on any slope over thirty degrees with shallow snow.

( Discussion is generated from the previous day's afternoon forecast. ) Inversions will steepen as warmer air moves over at mountain top elevations. 10,000 foot temperatures will rise to twenty degrees f. Tuesday but the valley floors will continue to be very cold. Ridgetop winds will be northerly at 10 to 15 mph. The General Avalanche Hazard will be MODERATE Tuesday. Two avalanche scenarios remain possible: First, surface slabs one to three feet in depth, which rest atop suncrusts and buried surface hoar, remain susceptible to human triggers on many aspects. The second avalanche problem is deep slab instability. Normal signs of stability such as previous tracks may only be the beginning of the weakening of the stronger surface snows. Under the current weather conditions the snowpack will become weaker and weaker and the chances of triggering a large, hard slab will increase. This condition has existed in the Greys river area to the South and Togwotee Pass to the East. With a Moderate hazard always use good stability evaluation skills and avoid open avalanche paths despite the behavior of those willing to accept higher levels of risk.