WILSON, Wyo. — The beginning of the winter season this year has been fraught with unusually warm weather and a slow start for backcountry skiers and riders. Because of variability in temperatures and heavy snow, dangerous avalanche conditions exist throughout the Tetons.
Since Dec. 18, 17 observations have been submitted to the Bridger-Teton Avalanche Center (BTAC) regarding avalanches and other activity suggesting instability in the snowpack from Grand Teton National Park to Teton Pass. On Saturday, a skier was carried in a slide and is now in critical condition. WY22 over Teton Pass will remain closed until tomorrow for avalanche mitigation.
“It’s time to keep our heads up,” Director of BTAC Frank Carus told Buckrail. “We have a lot of very thick wind slabs out there and they can be thicker than people expect. … Let the shallow snowpack get a little deeper.”
The most recent winter weather that began on Thursday came in cold, with temperatures warming throughout the day and remaining warm on Saturday. Sunday saw a cooler start with heavy snow and temperatures that warmed throughout the day, which can lead to an unstable snowpack and wind loading on many aspects. Shallower snowpacks, like the one observed this year, are also typically less stable.
Thomas Turiano, ski guide and author of the Teton Pass Backcountry Guide and longtime Jackson resident told Buckrail that he has not seen a winter like this in 40 years.
“Rain isn’t out of the ordinary,” he said. “What is out of the ordinary is how much rain there is. I’ve seen rain up to 10,000 feet before, but that was in November and it was only a one day event.”
If choosing to go into the backcountry, Turiano recommends avoiding traveling in any terrain with slope angles above 25 to 30 degrees, under steeper slopes or on ridge lines.
“The mountains will always be there and skiing is fun, but it’s not that fun,” Turiano said to Buckrail. “It’s not worth dying for.”
The most dangerous avalanche slope angles are generally between 30 and 45 degrees. For example, Glory Bowl, which is a large avalanche path at the top of Teton Pass and often the target of the Wyoming Department of Transportation’s efforts for safety mitigation, is in that range.
BTAC provides avalanche reports every day throughout the season. Stay safe, everyone.
