Early slides don't portend dangerous Wyo. winter

Big, new snow is already avalanching in the mountains around Jackson Hole, but that's not necessarily setting a dangerous pattern for avalanches in the winter ahead. Skiers and snowboarders have loosened dozens of mostly minor slides since heavy snow began to fall around the beginning of December. Nobody has been hurt, although Bob Comey with the Bridger-Teton Avalanche Center says one skier got caught in an avalanche on Sunday. The skier rode out the avalanche by deploying an emergency air bag collar. Snow depths in the Jackson area are well above average for this time of year. Comey says easily 5 feet of snow has fallen in the Teton Range over the past 10 days. He says the early, deep snow could help limit avalanche danger over the coming winter.