HEAT WAVE IN THE TETONS - July 6, 2014

With daytime highs in the upper 80s in the valley and overnight lows near 50F at 10,000', the snow is melting fast.  8-9000' is a rough elevation band for encountering continuous snow, particularly on the northern exposures and in the canyons.  Poor refreezes up high have accentuated the melting, as running water and loose unsupportable "iso-thermal" snow exists up high.  Snow on the southerly aspects and at the mid elevations remains consolidated and supportable.

Also of note - the avalanche destruction seen this spring is the most significant we've seen since '85/'86.  Numerous uprooted and downed trees obscure parts of the trails - to include Paintbrush, South and North forks of Cascade, Death, Avalanche Canyon - and others.  Although the GTNP trailcrew is hard at work clearing the trails, be prepared to momentarily lose the trail while hopping over the downed timber.