In what many are referring to as the ‘snowpocalypse’, Teton Pass is closed yet again for the third time in three days following 22″ of heavy snow in the past 48 hours.
Related: Skier Grabs Aerial Footage Of The Storm Damage @JacksonHole
And with Jackson Hole Mountain Resort closed until work crews can repair over 17 downed transmission towers, many locals who work in the village are finding themselves completely idle without a riding or working option for the next few days. Snow King Mountain is currently open but Jackson’s town hill is unfortunately getting hammered mostly by rain.
Right now, WYDOT officials are saying the pass could be closed until Saturday at 8am but hopefully they can get it open sooner for those souls commuting from Idaho to Jackson. In the meantime, the Bridger Teton Avalanche Center is warning all backcountry travelers to stay out of avalanche terrain until the danger subsides.
[sigallery id=”7QGJwtpY7D3WFg8RJoXoe3″ title=”Teton Pass CLOSED!” type=”sigallery”]
GENERAL AVALANCHE ADVISORY
VERY DANGEROUS AVALANCHE CONDITIONS EXIST AND ALL AVALANCHE TERRAIN SHOULD BE AVOIDED TODAY. As a warm and wet system brings increasing temperatures and constant snow and rain to the area today, the avalanche hazard will continue to rapidly increase. Snowfall at the higher elevations will continue to load existing wind slabs, making them both larger and increasing the likelihood of them releasing naturally.
At the mid and lower elevations, rain will quickly weaken the snowpack, allowing for wet slabs to occur. These avalanches will release naturally today and given the above average snowpack, are likely to entrain large volumes of snow. One such slide has already occurred this morning in the Snake River Canyon near Wolf Creek, closing Snake River Canyon. Teton Pass remains closed as WYDOT continues to clean up debris from several slides that occurred two days ago. Also of note is that two snowmobilers were both uninjured after being caught in a slide at Togwotee yesterday. One was fully buried with the exception of a visible part of his airbag that he had deployed. Beware of run out zones at lower elevations and use cautions around buildings as roofs will also be sliding. An avalanche warning has been issued by the center effective 1am this morning and continuing through at least 1am Friday.
Find out more here: JHavalanche.org
