Avalanche forecast

Avalanche forecast

Payette Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

Wed
Alpine
1 · Low
Treeline
1 · Low
Below
1 · Low
Out of date — this forecast expired 5 years ago. You’re viewing past conditions, not the current bulletin.

Highlights

The Avalanche Hazard in the West Central Mountains is LOW today.  Sun and warm temperatures will create rollerballs and point releases on steep slopes facing the Sun. If you are seeing rollerballs, point releases, or your boots or track are sinking into the snow more than 6 inches, it's time to choose a cooler aspect.  No matter how good you feel right now, remember that Low hazard does not mean that there is no hazard. Keep practicing safe travel protocols while enjoying the Spring Sunshine!

Avalanche problems

  • Loose Wet

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1–2

    Wet-loose natural avalanches have occurred on slopes that have been under stress from the Sun and warmer temps. Nighttime freezing has been modest.  Most of the natural activity has been within the upper 6 inches of the snowpack. You are most likely to start rollerballs and wet avalanches on slopes under direct Sun that are steeper than 30 degrees. The potential for small wet avalanches to entrain enough snow to overload deeper weak layers is low, but not impossible.  If you are sinking past your ankles or seeing rollerballs and point releases, it's easy to move to another slope aspect that is cooler.

    The view from just North of Tamarack Resort boundary on Monday. South aspects have shed some snow, but Northern aspects were cold and soft: )

Avalanche Discussion

Warm temps with Sun during the day and freezing at night have done a lot to stabilize our snowpack over the past week. Our nighttime temps have been freezing the snowpack, but not quite as much as one would like...Now, we are in the grip of spring where our avalanche hazard rises each day as the Sun loosens up the snow surface, and water percolates down with gravity.  With free water moving through the snowpack we may see enough saturation to release deeper buried weak layers in the snowpack. It's not easy to predict when wet slab activity will occur, but it is easy to choose aspects that are cooler than others. Terrain selection is going to be your friend when the Sun is heating up the surface too much. The soft powder we have been blessed with has survived on shaded aspects tilted towards the North above 7,000 feet. Around 1 pm each day the snow that has seen Sun is getting sticky for skiers.    Skiers and sledders are eating up some terrain that no one felt good about until recently. No matter how good you feel right now, remember that Low hazard does not mean that there is no hazard. Time of the day, aspect, and terrain selection are all going things to think about as you travel in and around avalanche terrain.    Just because the hazard is low doesn't mean we leave ourselves unprotected, or that we expose more than one person at a time to slopes steeper than 30 degrees. It is always a good idea to be prepared for the worst and always carry a transceiver, shovel, and probe on each person. Carrying your rescue gear on your snowmobile leaves you vulnerable as many people's snowmobiles do get buried.     

If you see or trigger avalanche activity, please take the time to snap a picture and note the approximate elevation and aspect, you can submit an observation on our website. Getting your info helps forecasters and other users get a better picture of the conditions throughout our mountains. If you have trouble using our observations page, please email us at: [email protected]

  Please be mindful of other users in the mountains, and where you are at. There are closures for motorized travel in and around the local ski areas, in the Lick Creek Canyon,  Granite Mtn, Jug Mountain, and other areas throughout our region.  Check out the Winter Travel Map to find out where you can shred on your sled or moto.  Not all of these areas are signed, it is your responsibility to know where these closures exist.