Sawtooth & Western Smoky Mtns

The chance of small wet avalanches will increase as surface crusts soften this afternoon and evening. Minimize your time on or under any steep slopes if you're sinking into a damp, sloppy snowpack. We can't rule out triggering a dry slab avalanche on very steep slopes over 9000' in elevation that face due north.

WET SNOW PROBLEMSYou can avoid today's minor wet snow avalanche hazard by staying off of and out from beneath very steep slopes (over about 35 degrees) if you're sinking into a wet, mushy snowpack. Today's temperatures will be the coolest since before the heatwave began 10 days ago. Crusts near the snow's surface are likely to remain strong enough to support your weight for most or all of the day. Your chance of getting into trouble will increase in the afternoon as the hot spring sun weakens these crusts. Here are a couple of wet snow problems to consider:

• Wet Loose Avalanches: These small slides will start at a point (either at your feet or near warm cliff bands and rocks) and fan out to collect snow as they travel downhill. They are most likely in wind-sheltered areas on very steep slopes that directly face the sun. Most will be less than a foot thick but are deceptively powerful. They are incredibly difficult to escape once they grab hold of your sled or skis and can easily carry you where you don't want to go. You can see several examples of recent wet loose avalanches in the gallery below. 
• Cornices: Large cornices sit atop many steep alpine ridgelines (photo). Cornice failures are unpredictable but usually occur as warm temperatures cause them to sag and break. Give cornices a wide berth and limit the time you spend below them. While dangerous in its own right, a tumbling cornice can entrain large amounts of wet snow and may trigger wet avalanches on the slopes below. Fortunately, they are easy to avoid by sticking to bare ridgetops. Make sure you're riding, sliding, or walking where rocks or small trees are showing through the snowpack. 

DRY SNOW PROBLEMSWe're still leery of very steep slopes over about 9000' in elevation that face due north. This thin slice of terrain was mostly unaffected by the heatwave. Here, you'll find dry snow and a couple of weak, faceted layers in the upper 2 feet of the snowpack.

• Persistent Slab Avalanches: Triggering a large persistent slab avalanche is unlikely but not impossible. We haven't seen a persistent slab avalanche in nearly 2 weeks, but this layer is still producing unstable snowpack test scores (observation). Although the odds of triggering a slab avalanche are low, I'm still not comfortable committing to large, N-facing, upper elevation slopes.