This is Chris Lundy of the Sawtooth National Forest Avalanche Center
 with your Backcountry Avalanche Advisory and Weather Forecast for
 Sunday, January 20, 2008 at 7:30 am.

 The Twin Falls District Bureau of Land Management & the Friends of the
 Sawtooth Avalanche Center bring you this advisory.

 Bottom Line:
 Today the avalanche danger is estimated to be MODERATE. Unstable
 snow is not widespread, but there are areas where it remains possible
 to trigger an avalanche. Strong winds from Thursday and Friday have
 formed wind slabs that are poorly bonded to the faceted snow surface
 beneath. You may find these in a variety of locations, but especially
 along south through east facing ridgelines. Deeper facet layers remain
 a concern throughout our region, and although the likelihood of
 triggering decreases with time, past events have demonstrated that the
 resulting avalanche would likely be large.

 Primary Avalanche Concern:
 
 
 
 
 Ahhfacets. I cant wait to stop talking about them and Im sure youre
 tired of hearing about them. But there is no getting around that they
 are the defining characteristic of our snowpack.

 In the South and Central Valley south of about the SNRA, older facets
 can be found 1-2 feet deep. The snowpack in this region remains very
 weak, and may be unsupportable or punchy in some places. In the North
 Valley, Western Smokies, and Sawtooth Mountains, generally there are
 two facet layers of concern. The first can be found around 2-3 feet
 deep beneath the early January snowfall. The distribution of this
 layer is sporadic and may not be found on all slopes. The second facet
 layer is buried about 4-5 feet deep and is more widespread. Stability
 tests have not proven very effective in evaluating these layers.

 Fortunately, time is helping to heal these facet layers and were going
 on a week since the last human triggered slide. But based on their
 track record of producing large avalanches and being tricky to
 evaluate, I still dont feel comfortable with our snowpack. If an
 avalanche does release it would likely be triggered from a shallow
 area or rocky terrain feature, so sticking to moderate slope angles
 and uniform terrain remains the best bet.

 Secondary Avalanche Concern:
 
 
 
 
 Our recent clear weather has formed a new crop of faceted snow on our
 snow surface, and in some places this has been buried by wind slabs
 formed by Thursday and Fridays wind. You are likely to find wind slabs
 along south through east facing ridgelines, but the nuclear nature of
 recent winds means that you could find them in a variety of locations.

 Now they are covered with a few inches of new snow so some detective
 work will be required. Yesterday we had an avalanche class in Baker
 Creek, and found that the old tracks were filled in and we were
 breaking trail in many places. In three different pits, we got easy
 and clean shears beneath the wind transported snow. In these cases,
 the shears were around 6 inches deep but I can imagine them being
 deeper on more wind loaded slopes.

 Current Conditions:
 Yesterday was a mild one with moderate temperatures, light winds, and
 partly cloudy skies. Overnight, 1-2 inches of new snow fell which will
 likely improve the sliding and riding in many locations, but in others
 it will only mask the wind affected conditions lurking beneath. While
 skiing on my day off on Friday, these conditions were responsible for
 me taking my first, second, and third falls of the season.

 Mountain temperatures are dropping this morning and currently theyre
 in the low teens. Winds are light from the south to southwest.

 Mountain Weather Forecast:
 A low pressure system moved into our area overnight bringing a few
 inches of new snow. By tomorrow morning we may see another 1-2 inches
 of snow accumulation. Cold arctic air is being pushed south by this
 system and mountain temperatures will continue to drop today, possibly
 as low as the single digits by this afternoon. High temperatures in
 the valley should reach the low 20s. Ridgeline winds are forecasted to
 be light from the west shifting northwest.