Bulletin d’avalanche

Sawtooth & Western Smoky Mtns

Sawtooth Avalanche Center
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Danger d’avalanche

Sat
Alpin
4 · Fort
Limite forestière
3 · Marqué
Sous la limite
2 · Modéré
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Périmé — ce bulletin a expiré 3 years ago. Vous consultez des conditions passées, pas le bulletin en cours.

Points saillants

Very dangerous avalanche conditions exist. Heavy snow and wind are overloading a very weak snowpack. Avalanches large enough to bury you will be easy to trigger on many slopes. Avalanches may be triggered remotely—from flat terrain above, below, and to the sides of steep slopes. Natural and human-triggered avalanches may run long distances and can impact gentler terrain below.

Conditions are at their worst in this zone's southern and western portions, including the mountains above Smiley Creek.

Problèmes avalancheux

  • Storm Slabs

    • Alpin
    • Limite forestière
    • Sous la limite forestière
    Probabilité
    Very Likely
    Taille
    1–2

    Warm, heavy snow and low elevation rain will continue today. Expect thick, dangerous wind slabs at upper elevations and windier middle elevations. In more wind-sheltered terrain, anticipate dense, touchy storm slabs. Snow may not bond well to the mix of crusts, facets, and surface hoar where it's landing. Cracking or collapsing of the snowpack are your first clues that the slab you've found is unstable. Wet avalanches are possible anywhere it's raining or when you find a wet, soggy snowpack.

  • Persistent Slabs

    • Alpin
    • Limite forestière
    • Sous la limite forestière
    Probabilité
    Likely
    Taille
    2–3

    Expect to find 1.5-3.5 foot thick slabs in areas sheltered from the wind. The slab is thicker in terrain loaded by the wind. These avalanches have failed on various weak layers: facets and/or surface hoar on shadier aspects and crust + facet combinations on sunnier slopes. Large natural and human-triggered avalanches have occurred on several aspects in recent weeks. Assume this problem exists on all upper and middle elevation slopes and on shadier, lower elevation aspects.

    Avalanches on this uncommonly widespread and fragile layer will break widely and in surprising ways. Don't expect obvious signs of instability, like snowpack cracking and collapsing. Your first sign of trouble may be the destructive avalanche you trigger. These slides can be triggered from long distances away—from flat or gentle terrain below, above, or to the sides of steep slopes.

    (1/19/2024) This photo shows several large avalanches that were remotely-triggered by riders in the Beaver Creek drainage. The furthest away slide is over 800 feet wide, and failed a half mile from where the avalanches were triggered, out of sight on the right side of the photo.

Avalanche Discussion

Day 2 of an atmospheric river (AR) event will bring additional heavy snow and low elevation rain. Storm totals in the snowiest regions will likely tally 2 feet or more. Natural avalanches may occur, and human-triggered avalanches are very likely.  The storm snow alone is dangerous, but let's not forget the impressively weak and widespread mix of fragile weak layers deeper in the snowpack. Storm snow may overload these layers, producing massive, far running slides that reach the valley floor. 

Snow isn't a fan of rapid change, and we're facing just that. Avoid avalanche terrain including flat terrain beneath steep slopes.

Régions couvertes