Two day storms totals are up to 30 inches with 3.5 inches of moisture. Conditions were very dangerous yesterday. Two snowboarders were caught in the Wolf trap slide path on Teton Pass. One was fully buried and the other was partially buried. Neither was injured. Ski patrollers at the Jackson Hole Mountain Resort faced challenging conditions. Patrollers were caught but not injured during avalanche hazard mitigation efforts in three separate instances. Conditions remain dangerous today. Large to very large human triggered slab avalanches are likely at the mid and upper elevations and possible at the lower elevations. West-southwest winds continue to load leeward aspects and therefor natural avalanche activity continues to be a possibility. Expert avalanche hazard assessment and route finding skills are essential for safe travel in avalanche terrain today.
Wind slabs formed by southwest to west-northwest winds could be human triggered with depths from one to three feet on a variety of aspects. Gusty winds will continue to load avalanche starting zones and could cause these wind slabs to release naturally.
Deep persistent slabs, which lie upon a faceted snow/rain crust combination in terrain that held snow from early October continue to be a serious threat. Surviving one of these slides is unlikely. These very dangerous slides could be triggered by the weight of a person or release naturally with depths to six feet.
Western Wyoming will experience periods of moderate snowfall and increasing southwest winds overnight and into the day. This snowfall will become lighter in the evening. Temperatures will be in the single digits in the mountains overnight and rise into the teens during the day. Valley temperatures will drop into the teens and then rise into the 20s.Strong winds continue to load leeward slopes and avalanche starting zones. Surface slabs up to three feet in depth formed by southwest to west-northwest winds could be human triggered on steep avalanche prone slopes. At the upper elevations persistent deep slabs three to six feet in depth could be triggered by the weight of a skier or riders on steep east through north to west facing slopes. Natural releases of these winds slabs and persistent deep slabs remain a possibility. The general avalanche hazard is expected to be CONSIDERABLE at the higher elevations and MODERATE at the lower elevations.
