Salt River and Wyoming Ranges

The general avalanche hazard is CONSIDERABLE today. While the surface of the snowpack has been gaining strengh over the past week DANGEROUS deep slab instabilites persist. A weak layer of faceted snow near the base of the snowpack has been the bed surface for an extended cycle of natural and human triggered deep slab avalanches which have resulted in two fatalities. Deep dense slabs could be triggered today on steep slopes on a variety of aspects at the mid and upper elevations. Skiers, snowboarders or snowmobilers may cross or highmark these unstable slopes multiple times before a weak trigger point is hit and the slab fails with possible fatal consequences. At the lower elevations avalanches are unlikely except in isolated pockets on steep terrain.