Soldier & Wood River Valley Mtns

You are unlikely to trigger avalanches large enough to bury people. You could trigger relatively small avalanches where the wind has formed hard drifts or stiffened the snow surface. Small loose snow avalanches (sluffs) are possible on very steep slopes on the northern half of the compass.

Monday and Tuesday's snowfall favored Dollarhide Summit and the headwaters of Warm Springs Ck. You're most likely to trigger a large avalanche in this small portion of the zone. In the Soldiers and the mountains surrounding the Wood River Valley, avalanches large enough to bury people are unlikely. We're not facing a single, well-defined avalanche problem, but there are a few things to consider as you head into the mountains:

• Wind slabs: Strong NW-N-NE winds formed another crop of thin, isolated wind slabs in exposed terrain. Yesterday, public observers reported cracking and collapsing of the snowpack (Indian Ck, Quigley). These are obvious signs that you've found a sensitive slab. Keep your eyes peeled for pockets of hard, wind-blown snow on and immediately below exposed ridgelines, on the sides of gullies or chutes, and near large terrain features. Any fresh slabs you find are most suspect on slopes steeper than about 35 degrees. The slabs will probably not extend very far downslope, but they could overlie weak facets or crusts and be more sensitive to triggering than you might expect. 
• Loose snow avalanches: The upper foot of the snowpack is extremely weak and faceted on some NW-N-NE-E facing slopes. On very steep slopes approaching 40 degrees, it doesn't take much to get surficial sluffs moving. Last week, several loose snow avalanches released naturally (on their own) in the mountains near Hailey. Also, a party of skiers triggered one of these sluffs on Carbonate Mountain (observation, photo).  
• "Rogue" persistent slab avalanches: Triggering a larger avalanche on weak, sugary faceted snow deep in the snowpack would take some seriously bad luck. To minimize the odds of this scenario, you can avoid very steep (approaching 40 degrees) slopes with large, hard wind features that keep you on the snow surface.  

LOW danger is not an excuse to throw caution to the wind. Remember that small avalanches can have bad outcomes in complex terrain. Before committing to skiing or riding that steep, beautiful-looking line, think about where an avalanche could carry you. Could you get pushed over cliffs, through trees, or into creeks or gullies? Slopes with these terrain traps are inherently more dangerous than open slopes with a clean runout.