Human triggered avalanches on buried weak layers in the snowpack remain a concern. Carefully evaluate terrain with firm cohesive slabs such as wind loaded zones before venturing onto steep slopes. Create margins of safety such as traveling one at a time to deal with the unpredictable nature of persistent slab avalanches.
Weak layers formed during November are still buried 1-3 feet across all aspects at the upper elevations. The sensitivity of these layers has decreased over time. Most areas lack the firm cohesive slab to transfer energy necessary for avalanches. Areas where triggering an avalanche is most likely are wind loaded zones such as above treeline or along exposed ridgelines.
The persistent slab problem still haunts the snowpack. The possibility of triggering this type of avalanche in Togwotee is hard to predict due to the varying degrees of weakness and slab quality between different aspects and elevations. Although the likelihood of triggering these slabs has decreased during recent dry and cold conditions, the weak overall snowpack structure is there. The key component to triggering an avalanche here is finding slopes that contain firm cohesive slabs above the weak structure. Avoid any terrain where wind loading has occurred as this could create those conditions. The uncertainty of these persistent slabs make them a difficult problem to assess. Create large margins of safety in consequential terrain to manage this uncertainty.
