During the past two days there have been four separate incidents where skiers or snowboarders in steep avalanche starting zones have been caught and carried by slab avalanches. Two people have been partially buried. Yesterday a snowboarder on Teton Pass was swept down a Playboy Chute into some trees and partially buried with minor injuries. A skier south of the boundary of the Jackson Hole Mountain Resort barely avoided injury after being swept down a steep chute next to the Broken Branch Couloir. Similar events are possible today and could result in serious injuries or death. Conservative terrain choices are essential for safe travel in avalanche terrain. Shallow loose snow sluffs are possible on steep sunlit aspects if skies remain clear.
Soft surface slabs up to two feet in depth lie upon a hard melt-freeze crust and storm snow density breaks. Humans who venture into steep terrain could trigger these slabs.
A weak shortwave imbedded in northwesterly flow could bring a couple of inches of new snow to the region during the night and into tomorrow. Overnight lows in the mountains will be near zero before rising into the low teens in the afternoon. Northwesterly ridgetop winds will range from 5 to 15 miles per hour.Above 7,500 feet, the General Avalanche Hazard is expected to be MODERATE on Sunday. In steep, wind loaded avalanche terrain, backcountry travelers could trigger pockets of wind slab 6 to 18 inches in depth failing either on density breaks within the storm snow or possibly down to the mid March hard snow surfaces. On sunlit aspects, any extended periods of clear skies in the afternoon could increase the likelihood of triggering these slides and bring about the possible of loose snow sluffing.
