GENERAL SNOW AND WEATHER ANNOUNCEMENT

Last Seven Days | Last Thirty Days | This Season | All Years | Danger Scale

April 29, 2013 7:30 am by Simon Trautman  

We are closed for the season, but mountains will be mountains, and avalanches don't care if it is spring. Remember to respect complicated terrain, keep your eyes open to obvious clues, and take nothing for granted. Above all, have a safe and enjoyable summer!

• Automated stations in our advisory area recorded snowfall on roughly two of every three days in December, and by Christmas our upper-elevation snowpack was 135-175% of the thirty-year average.

• We ended the season with a snowpack representing roughly 87% of the 30-year average and 78% of last season. On average, only 25% of the season's snowfall fell after December 26th.

• We issued a High danger rating only once this season.

• Our advisories were consistently focused on storm snow and wind slab avalanche problems, not the persistent and deep slab problems we're so accustomed to in our area.

• We published 135 daily advisories and 8 general snow and avalanche announcements. The advisory was accessed ~1200 times daily.

• The advisory was accessed ~160,000 times through email, web visits, and the phone hotline

• We logged 145 days in the field, and used snowmobiles for ~20 percent of that fieldwork.

• Local ski guides and snow safety workers submitted over 200 observations to our professional observations database. A big thank-you to the guides at Sawtooth Mountain Guides, Sun Valley Heli Ski, and Sun Valley Trekking, and the ski patrols at Bald Mountain and Soldier Mountain ski areas.

• The public also contributed an additional 77 observations.

• The closest call of the season occurred when a snowmachine triggered a large avalanche on April 14th (the last day of our advisories). The two riders involved - a father and son - survived uninjured after the father rode through the moving debris, picked up his son, and drove through the swash to safety. Whew.

• Our staff made 28 education presentations, about evenly split between professional and recreational audiences.

• All told, our education programs reached over 1700 people.

• The Friends of the Avalanche Center established independence as a 501(c)3 organization, signed a 5 year collection agreement that provides 50% of the avalanche center's budget, hired a new executive director, and provided funds to overhaul our web presence. The group now has ten board members, and their fundraising efforts included a fall mailing campaign, hosting the Banff Film Festival and Incredible Raffle, and organizing the second annual Skin-It-2-Win-It race at Dollar Mountain.

• Our heartfelt thanks go out to the Friends, and all those who contribute their time and money to the avalanche center. We rely heavily on your support, and literally could not do our jobs without you!

General Information

Your observations remain invaluable! Let us know what you're seeing in the backcountry - especially if you see or trigger any avalanches. Call our 24hr voicemail at (208)622-0099 or fill out our observer form on our website:
http://www.sawtoothavalanche.com/submit_observation.php

It is a good practice to avoid wintering wildlife. Give deer, elk, and other inhabitants a wide berth as you travel through the backcountry.

For Idaho road closures check http://511.idaho.gov

This advisory only applies to the backcountry and does not apply to highway programs or operating ski areas. Changing conditions and local variations may occur.