So far avalanches have claimed 25 people, all but one living in the West. Across the West and in eastern Idaho and western Wyoming, backcountry slopes received several feet of new snow recently that piled up onto a poor foundation of snow made rotten by long stretches of dry periods during December and January. âWhen we get a heavy snowfall it sits on a very poor foundation,â said Bill Radecky, an avalanche educator and guide based in Rigby. While ski resorts mitigate avalanche hazards, backcountry users must be their own hazard experts. The Bridger-Teton Avalanche Center recorded 16 slides in the past week, several were touched off by skiers. One avalanche hit Teton Pass on Tuesday.