This is Janet Kellam of the Sawtooth National Forest Avalanche Center with your Backcountry Avalanche Advisory and Weather Forecast for Friday, February 29, 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 begin at LOW danger this morning and increase to CONSIDERABLE danger of wet slides on warmer aspects with daytime heating. This means East, South and West facing slopes. On due north facing slopes the avalanche danger should not increase much. Today promises to be the warmest day yet. As the surface snow becomes wet and loose, and you are sinking in more than a few inches deep, it is time to move to cooler slopes. Weekend Outlook: Saturday, temperatures are forecast to cool significantly and we will see light snow throughout the day. Accumulations of 2 to 4 inches are forecast for higher elevations accompanied by southwest winds. Primary Avalanche Concern: A temperature inversion has brought cold valley temperatures this morning and a solid freeze down low. Upper elevation temperatures are 28 to 30 degrees. elevations. Today promises to be a warm and mostly sunny day so the warmer aspects should heat up fairly quickly, especially at upper elevations. We have generally stable conditions and our cycles of warm days and cold nights have helped to consolidate even the weak, low elevation snowpack. However, the snow will become wet and loose today on southeast to west facing slopes as it did yesterday afternoon. It will become very possible to trigger wet slides on steep slopes. These slides can fan out wider than you may anticipate and in areas of a weaker, shallower snowpack they may dig down deeper and entrain more snow than just our recent storm. The cooler, north facing slopes will not get nearly the warm up the sunny slopes will experience. Buried weak layers have gained strength so we are not as concerned about these slopes as the warmer aspects. Any very steep slope with weak punchy snow beneath should still be approached cautiously, especially if the area you are in feels like it is warming up. Current Conditions: Yesterday turned into a warm and sunny day after a cool and cloudy start. Today, a short window of corn skiing exists on south and southwest facing slopes where the underlying snowpack is supportive and dense. Warmer temperatures this morning at mid to upper elevations mean you'll be hiking up into warmer snow. Start early and stay just ahead of the sun. Mid to late morning may be the latest youll want to be on some of the warmer backcountry slopes. South and southeast facing slopes tend to be weak and punchy (even shrubby) unless you are along a wind packed area or where a deeper, denser snowpack is found. Due north facing slopes, sheltered from the wind, continue to offer very good settled powder conditions into the afternoon hours. Drift off towards other aspects and plenty of surface crusts or slop can be found. Upper elevations have temperatures ranging 28 to 30 degrees at 6AM and only very light winds from the west and southwest. Valley temperatures are around 20 degrees at 6AM, it is colder in Stanley. Mountain Weather Forecast: Temperatures are forecast to reach the mid to upper forties at high elevations today and close to 50 degrees on the valley floor. Winds will be light out of the southwest. Increasing clouds are expected by tonight as a cold front and small storm reaches our area. We could see some greenhouse heating today as high, thin clouds form during the day. This will tend to make the snow stickier and warmer, even on the cooler aspects. Tomorrow up to several inches of snow are possible accompanied by southwest winds and some blowing snow. The snowline is expected to be about 5,500ft with temperatures reaching the mid twenties to 30 degrees at upper elevations. The forecast is for clearing by Saturday evening and a nice day on Sunday.