MONSOON MOISTURE & CONTINUED SNOW RETREAT - July 18, 2014

The past couple weeks in the Tetons have been characterized by the establishment of a monsoonal weather pattern with frequent and sometimes severe thunderstorms battering the range.  Significant rockfall has occurred as a result of these intense precipitation events in the Stettner Couloir and on the approach to the Upper Saddle on the Grand Teton, as well as in the West Hourglass Couloir on Nez Perce.  Pay special attention when traveling in or under these types of couloirs after heavy rainfall events!

The snowpack continues to recede, however, significant snow still remains at mid elevations and on mountain passes.  The Meadows in Garnet Canyon, for example, is still almost completely snow-covered and only one of the bear boxes has melted out.  Paintbrush Divide remains guarded by firm, steep snow on the east side.  Please be careful when venturing out onto these slopes!

The Meadows in Garnet Canyon is completely covered in snow - 7/17/14

Upper Paintbrush Canyon & Divide - 7/12/14

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.