This is Janet Kellam of the Sawtooth National Forest Avalanche Center
 with your Backcountry Avalanche Advisory and Weather Forecast for
 Saturday, January 19, 2008 at 7:30 am.

 The Sawtooth Society in partnership with Idaho's SNRA Mountain Goat
 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 any region with a shallower snowpack, in steep rocky terrain
 or where wind transported snow has developed a greater load on the
 fragile underlying layers. Yesterday and early this morning northwest
 winds continued to blow snow along high elevation ridgelines.

 The layering in the snowpack has gained some strength and the
 likelihood of triggering an avalanche has decreased since earlier in
 the week. However, distribution of the slab and weak layers is highly
 variable and it can be difficult to determine if an avalanche may be
 triggered or not. This uncertainty combined with the large size of
 slides that could be triggered means careful stability evaluation and
 terrain selection is critical for any backcountry traveler.

 Primary Avalanche Concern:
 
 
 
 
 Several wind events this past week have scoured and drifted just about
 any location exposed to north and west winds, even at mid to low
 elevation. This uneven snow distribution has made it more difficult to
 determine where weak sugary snow lies beneath the surface and just how
 much of a slab rests on top of it. Some areas could have a large load
 due to the 1 to 3 feet of storm snow and all the wind transported snow
 since early January.

 Around the Central and South Valley, south of SNRA headquarters, the
 snowpack is thin and weak. It is not as sensitive as it was to the
 weight of a human, but the very weak snow beneath 1 to 2 feet of
 surface snow means it is still possible to trigger an avalanche in
 steep terrain.

 In sheltered areas with a deeper snowpack, the layers have been
 gaining strength. Clean shears between layers are less obvious and
 stability tests have improved. These are the slopes to seek out this
 weekend, especially where the terrain is more uniform and not steep
 and rocky. Galena Summit and the Sawtooth Mountains have the deepest
 more stable seeming snowpack right now. In these locations watch for
 isolated weak areas especially in exposed terrain or lower elevations.

 In the Titus/Galena area our observations show the top 8 to 12 inches
 of snow has not fully bonded to the underlying snow. In most cases a
 surface slab has not formed but it is a good idea to look for an easy
 shear on all aspects and avoid steep slopes where this shear is found
 beneath an overlying cohesive slab of snow.

 Secondary Avalanche Concern:
 
 
 
 
 Ridgeline winds continued to move snow yesterday in the alpine
 terrain. They are increasing in speed slightly this morning and
 continue to blow fairly strong along the Camas Prairie. In spite of no
 recent snowfall, 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 faceted snow.

 Current Conditions:
 Today is the day to head for your secret stashes of powder in
 sheltered locations. Conditions are supportive with nice dry powder on
 top. Any slopes exposed to north or west wind or facing into the sun
 will have variable, crusty conditions.

 Nighttime temperatures remained warm at upper elevations with Baldy
 reporting 21 degrees at 6AM. Other high elevations show temperatures
 in the teens and it is 3 degrees on the valley floor. Ridgeline winds
 decreased yesterday afternoon but are still out of the northwest this
 morning and have picked up in speed, gusting in the 20 to 30mph range
 with stronger winds out along the Camas Prairie.

 There is no new snow but the cold temperatures in the shade have
 continued to weaken and facet the surface snow making it appear like
 light crystalline powder.

 Mountain Weather Forecast:
 We should see a pretty nice day. Early sunshine is expected to shift
 to partly cloudy skies with a chance of snow by afternoon and into the
 evening. Accumulations will be on the light side, only a few inches,
 but may be enough to freshen up the weather beaten snow surfaces. This
 type of flow favors the northern sections of our forecast region. The
 chance of snow continues Sunday with cloudy skies and temperatures
 becoming cold again by Monday.

 Winds will be out of the northwest, shifting westerly by afternoon and
 blowing 15 to 20mph as the front moves into our region from the
 Pacific Northwest. Stronger winds are expected in the Camas Prairie
 and Soldier Mountains. Temperatures are forecast to be near twenty
 degrees at upper elevations (Baldy is that mild already), and warm up
 to 30 degrees on the valley floor. They will cool back down to 8 to 15
 degrees at all elevations tonight.