The avalanche risk warning for Northwest Wyoming is “Considerable,” right now, or a 3 on a 5 point scale.
Bob Comey is the director at the Bridger-Teton National Forest Avalanche Center. He says this risk level is associated with the most avalanche deaths, because more people are still willing to take the chance on venturing into the back country, as opposed to when the risk level is “High” or “Extreme”.
Comey cautions skiers, snowboarders, snowmobilers, and snowshoers to check avalanche conditions before heading out, and be more conservative when assessing risks.
"There’s a lot of steep slopes where people could ride snowmobiles or go back country skiing or snow-mobiling and they might be stable. There’s other similar slopes nearby that could produce dangerous avalanches. And it’s very difficult right now, even for skilled people, to assess and determine which one is stable and which one is not," says Comey.
Comey adds that the particular conditions they are seeing right now, with persistent weak base layers and a heavy load of snow on top, could stick around for days, weeks, or even months depending on the weather.