Soldier & Wood River Valley Mtns

Avalanche conditions are generally safe. Very isolated pockets of wind-drifted snow may exist at upper elevations. Continue to use normal backcountry precautions and watch for unexpected signs of instability.

There is no clearly defined avalanche problem in this zone, and avalanche conditions are generally safe. Watch for very isolated pockets of wind-drifted snow at upper elevations. Continue to use normal backcountry precautions—carry avalanche rescue gear, make a plan for the day, and watch for unexpected signs of instability. The greatest hazards you will encounter today are posed by the slick, icy surface conditions that exist.

ADDITIONAL DISCUSSIONWow, it has been quite a dry two months in our part of the world! Thanks to a lack of snowfall, we've gone through many weeks of LOW danger across our entire forecast area. These conditions have allowed us to travel freely in the mountains, spending significant time in avalanche terrain in the middle of winter. If you have spent much time around here you know that this is pretty unusual. However, with weak layers buried in the upper portion of our snowpack and snow in the forecast, it is time to begin to shift that mindset.   

The Banner Summit area is a good leading indicator for the types of conditions we may be encountering in the mountains in the coming days and weeks. Here, more snow has fallen and we've reached the tipping point between stability and instability. Numerous slab avalanches occurred here during the storm last week and the possibility of human-triggered avalanches is on the table today. As we travel south, the slab of snow overlying these weak layers is thinner and the likelihood of encountering this problem is significantly lower. Light snowfall returns to the area this evening and continues through Wednesday. Even though we aren't anticipating huge snow totals from this storm, we will be inching towards the breaking point of these weak layers. Take some time today to think about how you are moving through the mountains and how that will change when there is a meatier slab on the surface. In the Banner Summit area, our travel practices have already become more conservative. Further south, it won't take much additional loading before we find ourselves taking a big step back. I hope you have enjoyed the simpler conditions of the past months because our world is set to become quite a bit more complex.

Catch up on what happened with this week's wet, wild, and windy storm in Chris's Weekend Update!