This is Janet Kellam of the Sawtooth National Forest Avalanche Center with your Backcountry Avalanche Advisory and Weather Forecast for Friday, January 18, 2008 at 7:30 am. Idaho Department of Parks & Recreation in partnership with Idaho's Snowmobile License Plate Program & the Friends of the Sawtooth Avalanche Center bring you this advisory. Bottom Line: Today the avalanche danger is estimated to be MODERATE with areas of CONSIDERABLE danger in steep wind loaded terrain. Buried weak layers continue to present a problem. Greatest concerns exist in steep rocky terrain, in any area with a shallower snowpack or where wind transported snow has developed a greater load on the fragile underlying layers. While the likelihood of triggering an avalanche has decreased since earlier in the week, the uncertainty of just where a slide may happen and the size of the slides that may result mean careful stability evaluation and terrain selection is critical for any backcountry traveler. The buried weak layers are extensive and very developed. This level of avalanche conditions is expected to persist through the weekend. Primary Avalanche Concern: It has been over a week since our last round of new snow, but several wind events have transported snow onto leeward slopes and aggravated our lingering avalanche problems where weak snow layers exist within the snowpack. I took a trip out Proctor yesterday on one of the local snowshoe trails. The snow is extremely weak and punchy beneath the top foot or so of January snow and a heavier slab has developed where wind drifted snow is deposited. Although I did not trigger any slides, I still dont have much confidence in such a top-heavy snowpack. Id like to emphasize that avalanches dont care how you get on or directly beneath an unstable slope. Traveling by skis, snowshoes or snowmachine, we are all vulnerable. Summertime trails pass through and beneath avalanche slopes so look at these summertime trails with a wintertime avalanche perspective. It is very possible given the current conditions to travel in avalanche terrain and have good skiing, snowmobiling, boarding or snowshoeing. Right now the key to staying out of avalanches is to travel on moderate slope angles, or to have extremely good stability evaluation skills and be willing to back off of steeper areas with weak layering or to be pretty darn lucky if you are not doing either of these. It is one of those years in which we have lingering instability due to poor snowpack structure and layering. Digging down or probing into the snow will reveal if weak layers exist within the snowpack. Check near the ground and beneath the most recent storms. The snow in regions with a deeper snowpack appears to be gaining strength and offers more stable conditions. We are still seeing weak spots scattered throughout these deeper snow areas. The snowpack is generally deeper in the Galena Summit area and Sawtooth Mountains, but expect to find a shallower snowpack in any exposed alpine terrain or along steep rocky slopes. Secondary Avalanche Concern: Ridgeline winds gusted 20-40mph yesterday morning and were much stronger along the Camas Prairie. Keep an eye out for newer, sensitive windslabs today in any exposed location or for areas of deeper, drifted snow that may lie on top of weak, shallow snow. Current Conditions: We are under a high pressure ridge which is creating a temperature inversion. Baldy reports 14 degrees this morning, Titus 8 degrees and the valley floor minus 4 degrees. Stanley is a remarkable 17 degrees at 6AM. North, northwest winds have been decreasing and are blowing 8-10mph but expect to find a stiff breeze out along the Camas Prairie today. The Galena area and further north may have received a few snow showers yesterday but no real accumulation of snow. Good powder still exists but the snow surface has been weathered by sun and wind. Expect to find variable surface conditions as you travel. Cold temperatures are faceting and weakening the snow surface on shaded sheltered aspects, making for dry feeling powder on a supportive pack. Mountain Weather Forecast: Today expect to see some clouds with only a chance of snow showers in the mountains, otherwise sunny skies. Winds will be lighter than yesterday but still blowing out of the northwest and in the 10 to 20mph range along high ridgelines. Temperatures will reach the 20s at upper elevations, will be mid to upper 20's on Baldy and near 30 degrees on the valley floor. Night time lows will drop close to, but not below, zero on the valley floor. It should be slightly warmer at higher elevations with 5-10 degrees above zero expected. Saturday afternoon and evening brings a system from the northwest with a few inches of snow in the forecast.