This is Janet Kellam of the Sawtooth National Forest Avalanche Center
 with your Backcountry Avalanche Advisory and Weather Forecast for
 Friday, April 1, 2005 at 7 am.

 Today the avalanche danger is estimated to be:
 At mid to upper elevations there is a MODERATE danger of triggering a
 large, destructive avalanche. Moderate danger means that human
 triggered avalanches are possible.

 The greatest danger is on east, north and northwest facing slopes in
 the Smoky and Sawtooth Mountains due to recent snow accumulations, a
 very weak, underlying snowpack and warming temperatures today. We are
 urging extra caution on all cool or shady slopes steeper than 30
 degrees due to this deep slab instability.

 There is a MODERATE danger of wet sluffs and slides on steeper slopes
 and this will increase on slopes that are subjected to daytime heating
 and direct sun.

 Snowpack Discussion:

 Mother Nature is trying to play an April Fools trick on us. It should
 be spring, but the snowpack on steeper north facing shady aspects
 resembles a dangerous and unstable January snowpack. On these cooler
 aspects, 1 to more than 2 feet of consolidated snow is sitting on top
 of a weak, faceted snowpack. Today promises warmer temperatures at
 upper elevations and this will continue to stress the snowpack.

 On warmer aspects, the snow layers are bonding together and sluffing
 of the newer snow is the main concern, but check for weak layers and
 possible instability beneath the snow surface on east and west
 aspects. I was on east and west facing slopes out Mushroom Ridge
 yesterday and experienced some delayed collapsing after I had been on
 the slopes for some time. On both slopes I found weak, faceted snow
 almost 2 feet below the surface.

 Significant winds this past week created new cornices that can break
 further back than you may anticipate and windslabs have formed by
 crossloading at mid elevations as well as along ridgelines. The new
 wind slabs appear to be bonding to the underlying snow, but watch for
 cracking or collapsing of any wind deposited snow.

 Skier and snowmobiler triggered avalanches and many large natural
 slides have occurred this past week. The ones we have seen are in the
 Smoky Mountains and in the Southern Sawtooth Mountains. There could
 easily be more that we do not know about. These slides have primarily
 been in alpine terrain and associated with steep rocky areas or sharp
 breakovers where a slope steepens.

 The snowpack is beginning to adjust to the new load, and it will not
 be as easy to trigger an avalanche, but the ones that break out can be
 deadly. With this deep slab avalanche condition, tracks on a slope do
 not prove that the slope will not avalanche. It may fail after many
 skiers or riders. The best options are to choose lower angle slopes,
 avoid sharp breakovers and areas with a shallow snowpack and a sugary
 base layer, or choose to ride and slide on warmer aspects where the
 weak facets do not exist. Avoid rock outcroppings or buried rocks
 where weaker snow is near the surface, as slides can be triggered more
 easily in these locations.

 Cool temperatures have kept good powder conditions on the north facing
 slopes, Breakable crusts turning to mushy snow will be found in any
 sunny location.

 Mountain Weather Forecast:

 There is a slight temperature inversion this morning. 10,000 foot
 temperatures are 28 degrees at 6AM, Ketchum is reporting 20 degrees. A
 cold front is expected to reach us by tonight, but for today
 temperatures should reach 37 degrees on Baldy, 34 degrees on Titus
 Ridge and a spring-like 56 degrees on the valley floor. Winds will be
 light out of the southwest. Expect increasing clouds and a chance of
 snow showers by tonight.