Bollettino valanghe

Low avalanche danger exists at all elevations. Small, shallow wind slabs are possible near ridgelines as well as loose dry snow avalanches in steep, shady protected, upper elevation terrain.

These small avalanches are likely to be harmless to people (R1 D1) but remember too that low danger does not mean that there is not any danger at all...continue to watch your partners one at a time on steep slopes from safe areas. Small avalanches in steep exposed terrain can turn ugly and push you into bad places like terrain traps, or over cliffs.

Today's advisory is sponsored by OnXBackcountry...Thank you for supporting the Payette Avalanche Center.

Cold temperatures have helped break down buried crusts. The temperatures have been cold enough to grow some facets below the crusts which is weakening them to where they will not survive the weight of future loads. On North aspects, the temperature crust that is buried 1-1.5 ft below the surface is not noticeable on skis, especially above 7500' feet. If you dig down with your hands you can feel it still. The light dry accumulations that we have gotten over the last few weeks haven't done much to add to our snowpack or to our avalanche problems. Small wind slab development near ridgelines and small loose dry avalanches have been predictable and harmless to people. 

Our current snowpack is pretty solid with weak layers confined to the upper foot. Sunny slopes may shed small wet loose debris this afternoon, but stay tuned as the slick crusts are may get pretty interesting when we start getting snow next week. One thing to remember about a low tide/high pressure dominated winter is that it does create a lot of variability in the snowpack and a variety of snow surface conditions, if we get back into the storm track next week, conditions could get spicy pretty quickly on all slopes. Warmer, heavier snow in the upper elevations and rain on snow will likely produce a natural avalanche cycle next week.

The February water report came out this week too, it shows the Payette Basin and the Salmon Basin holding pretty strong just below and right around 90 of average.  Weather models are mostly in agreement that March will bring more precipitation than we have had in January and February but amounts are still up in the air.  If we don't see accumulations over the next month, our water report for March will show significant decreases compared to the average totals.

****One of our sponsors, OnXBackcountry has partnered with the Payette Avalanche Center. For each membership purchased with promo codePAYETTE20 for onX Backcountry or PAYETTESLEDS20 for onX Offroad you get a 20% discount. Plus, a 20% donation goes back to the Payette Avalanche Center upon purchase, so you’ll be directly supporting avalanche forecasts. 

Go to our Observations Page to see what others are seeing...We are always looking for more Information from snowmobilers and skiers on snow and weather conditions. These observations help our forecasts and they help other users in and outside of the community. It can be quick with or without a photo…Use the Observations link at the top of the page to submit your observations. 

Sledders and Snowbikers, please be aware that there are some areas of the Payette National Forest that are closed to motorized use, some of these closures are to protect wildlife and some are to protect other recreators.  If you are using Gaia or OnX you can download a layer called snowmobile trails that shows groomed routes and motorized closures.  Check out the Winter Travel Map below for details.

https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fseprd891395.pdf