Soldier & Wood River Valley Mtns

Generally safe avalanche conditions exist and large avalanches are unlikely. You are most likely to encounter an avalanche problem in very steep, rocky, and wind-affected terrain. Continue to follow safe travel protocols—carry your rescue gear, travel one at a time in avalanche terrain, and keep your eyes on your partners. 

There is no well-defined avalanche problem in this zone, and triggering a large avalanche is unlikely. Of course, as the saying goes, LOW danger is not the same as no danger. As the danger drops, we often find ourselves seeking out steeper terrain. Here, even minor problems can carry high consequences. Be on the lookout for the problems described below and think about the potential consequences of encountering them in the terrain you are traveling in:

• Wind Slabs: thin, isolated wind slabs exist in upper elevation terrain. These slabs are generally well-bonded to the surfaces that they are resting on and are mostly just decreasing the skiing/riding quality where they exist. However, if you find one sitting on a layer of icy snow with facets you may still be able to trigger it.
• Remnant Snow from October: A layer of weak snow exists at the base of the snowpack on shaded middle elevation slopes and most upper elevation slopes. In this zone, this layer is buried 2.5-5' deep and is finally getting the rest it needs to gradually heal. This weak snow is less widespread in the mountains above the Wood River Valley but has produced a handful of avalanches on slopes above about 8,000' here. You are more likely to encounter this snow if you are traveling on the western side of the zone, from Dollarhide to the Soldiers. 
• Wet Loose Slides: Today will be cooler than yesterday, but if you are playing in very steep, rocky terrain that directly faces the sun during the heat of the day you might be able to push some of this wet surface snow into a small slide. 

I issued a challenge for you yesterday, and was pleased to get at least one response! I think I'll keep it going today, here is your Tuesday challenge: the weather over the past 10 days has been great for building surface hoar. I've skinned and rode through many fields of surface hoar of all varieties. Of course, not all surface hoar is created equally. You can find thin needles of surface hoar (acicular growth form) and flat plates of surface hoar (tabular growth form). You can find surface hoar that grows on top of other crystals of surface hoar and surface hoar that is standing up or falling over. Wow, who knew there was so much to know about surface hoar!? Today, when you are out in the backcountry and you find some surface hoar, take a minute or two to have a closer look at the crystals. Try to describe what you are seeing. Send a photo or two my way ([email protected]), along with your brief description of what you saw, and get ready for another mind-blowing prize in return! (Forecaster's note: today, there is also no prize, but I can guarantee you an excited email in response)