At the mid and high elevations, recently formed slabs lie upon hard snow surfaces. These slabs could be triggered by backcountry skiers and riders today and will increase in sensitivity this afternoon as they are weakened by direct sunlight and rapidly warming temperatures. Yesterday a skier was carried through rugged terrain in the Chicken Scratch Couloir area on Teton Pass. Similar events could occur today. Small wet loose activity is also expected on very steep south facing terrrain. Avalanches at low elevations are unlikely.
At the mid and upper elevations soft surface slabs one to three feet in depth could be triggered by humans in steep avalanche prone terrain. Careful terrain and snowpack evaluation is essential.
Skies will clear overnight, and temperature inversions will develop as high pressure moves into the area from the west. Overnight lows in the mountains will be in the single digits before rebounding to near 30 during the day. Northwesterly ridgetop winds will range from 5 to 15 miles per hour.The general avalanche hazard is expected to be MODERATE Saturday morning. In the Tetons and Greys River areas, daytime warming will increase the hazard to CONSIDERABLE in the afternoon as the chance rises to trigger recently formed wind slabs with depths up to 30 inches. The chance for wet, loose sluffs will also increase as the day warms on sunlit aspects.In the Togwotee Pass forecast zone, where less snow fell in the past week, the chance to trigger smaller wind slabs and wet, loose sluffs will also increase during the day. A slight chance remains to trigger deep, hard slabs failing on faceted snow that persists in the lower portion of the snowpack. There, the general avalanche hazard is expected to remain MODERATE throughout the day.
