This is Chris Lundy of the Sawtooth National Forest Avalanche Center
 with your Backcountry Avalanche Advisory and Weather Forecast for
 Monday, January 7, 2008 at 7:30 am.

 Bottom Line:
 In the South and Central Valley the avalanche danger remains HIGH
 on wind loaded slopes and CONSIDERABLE on all other slopes. Two
 feet of new snow and strong winds over the weekend have overloaded a
 weak, faceted snowpack causing widespread unstable conditions. There
 have been numerous natural and human triggered slides and too many
 close calls. Backcountry travel on or beneath steep slopes is not
 recommended.

 In the North Valley and Sawtooth Mountains the avalanche danger is
 estimated to be CONSIDERABLE. The snowpack in this region was
 stronger prior to the storm and has better adjusted to the significant
 load added over the weekend. Areas of the greatest concern in this
 region are wind loaded areas and any slope steeper than about 35
 degrees, where you could trigger a slide within the storm snow or at
 the old snow interface. Pockets of weak, faceted snow still exist,
 especially in steep, rocky terrain and shallow areas, and with the new
 load it may be possible to trigger a large slide in these areas.

 Primary Avalanche Concern:
 
 
 
 
 In the South and Central Valley avalanche conditions over the weekend
 were spicy to say the least. Many natural avalanches reached the Warm
 Springs Road past Board Ranch, with one slide hitting a house on
 Huffman Drive closer to town. There have been many natural and human
 triggered slides out of bounds on Baldy, with way more close calls
 than wed like to see. Yesterday afternoon there were two skier
 triggered slides at mid elevations on Baldy, and fresh natural slides
 on the rocky slopes above the highway near Lake Creek.

 Throughout this region, 1.5-2 feet of snow sits atop very weak, sugary
 snow that is barely clinging to this new load. Where the weekends
 strong wind has transported the new snow, these slabs are considerably
 deeper. This sketchy snowpack is going to take time to stabilize, and
 for now it is best to stay off of and out from under steep slopes,
 even at valley floor elevations.

 In the North Valley and Sawtooth Mountains, weak, faceted snow is not
 as widespread but still exists in pockety areas in steep, rocky
 terrain, in the high alpine, and places where the snowpack remained
 shallow prior to this weekends storm. There is still a lot of early
 season variability in the strength of the snowpack making stability
 evaluation tricky. With these facet layers now buried at least 2 feet
 deeper, any slide breaking into these layers would likely be large and
 very dangerous.

 Secondary Avalanche Concern:
 
 
 
 
 The greatest concern in the North Valley and Sawtooth Mountains are
 instabilities associated with the weekends new snow accumulation.

 Avalanches could be triggered within the storm snow, especially in a
 widespread graupel layer about 16 inches down. Graupel looks like
 little styrofoam ball bearings and can be easily found by digging a
 quick snowpit. On some slopes the 2 feet of new snow may also be
 poorly bonded to the old snow surface. These avalanche problems will
 be most pronounced on steeper slopes with angles greater than about 35
 degrees. Any slope with drifts of wind blown snow should be avoided as
 these wind slabs are likely poorly bonded to the lower density snow
 beneath.

 Current Conditions:
 Yesterday most mountain locations received another 2-4 inches of new
 snow. Fortunately, winds during the last 24 hours have moderated but
 some gusty conditions were noted yesterday afternoon. Currently winds
 are blowing 5-15 mph, mostly from the southwest. Temperatures this
 morning are in the single digits except in Ketchum where its -2
 degrees.

 Mountain Weather Forecast:
 A weak northwest flow today will keep temperatures on the cool side
 and provide a chance for a few inches of new snow. Mountain
 temperatures should reach 10 to 15 degrees, with 22 degrees the
 expected high in Ketchum. Ridgeline winds are forecasted to blow 10-20
 mph from the southwest shifting to the west. Skies should be cloudy
 for most of the day.

 Beginning tomorrow morning, a less impressive storm system is expected
 to move into our region. Right now, weather models seem to indicate
 around 6-8 inches of new snow by Wednesday morning.