This is Chris Lundy with the Sawtooth National Forest Avalanche Center
 with General Snow and Weather Information on Sunday, December 2, 2007.
 This information will be updated as we get more snow and more people
 head into the backcountry. Wed like to thank this seasons group of
 great advisory sponsors, including the City of Ketchum, the Wattis
 Dumke Foundation, Blaine County, Sun Valley Tele Series, Smiley Creek
 Lodge, the Idaho Department of Parks and Rec, the Sawtooth Society,
 and the Twin Falls District Bureau of Land Management.

 Snowpack Discussion:
 Currently, backcountry skiing and snowmobiling is limited to upper
 elevation, shaded aspects in our northern mountains, where a 2-3 foot
 base is providing decent riding conditions for those willing to risk
 the thin coverage. The snowpack is much shallower or nonexistent on
 sunnier aspects or in the mountains closer to town.

 As is typical for early winter, the snowpack is highly variable. Where
 snow depths are less than around two feet, the snowpack has become
 weak and sugary throughout its depth. Where the snowpack is deeper,
 layers of facets exist about 6-8 inches below the surface and also
 near the ground in some locations. Hard melt-freeze crusts from early
 season warming and rain events are also commonly found.

 A significant winter storm will reach our area late Sunday and last
 through Monday, resulting in increasing avalanche danger. The
 combination of new snow and strong southwest winds will form wind
 slabs on northeasterly aspects. On Monday temperatures are forecasted
 to rise from the low teens to upper 20s, which will result in heavier
 snow falling atop lighter, colder snow. This top heavy density
 inversion will likely cause instability within the new snow or at the
 old snow/new snow interface. While our field observations so far this
 season are limited, I wouldnt be surprised if the new snow and
 increasing temperatures overload buried weak layers that can be found
 on many upper elevation, north-facing slopes. All these factors lead
 me to believe that the avalanche danger on steep, high elevation
 slopes will rise to CONSIDERABLE by Monday.

 Mountain Weather:
 A wet Pacific storm system is forecasted to reach our area Sunday,
 bringing new snow, strong southwesterly winds, and warming
 temperatures. Since this system is coming from the west rather than
 southwest, it is more likely to favor our northern area including the
 Galena Summit, western Smoky, and Sawtooth Mountains. By late Monday,
 around a foot of new snow is expected at higher elevations.

 Temperatures will increase through the storm as a warm front enters
 the region. Mountains temperatures will remain in the low teens Sunday
 night, but should reach the upper 20s by Monday afternoon.

 Southwesterly winds are already increasing ahead of the approaching
 storm, and are expected to average 20-30 mph with gusts near 40.