As the cold front approached the strong winds and snow from the southwest have loaded the leeward side of the mountain creating a fresh batch of wind slabs in the high terrain. Best to avoid these as they will be sensitive throughout the day and could pack a punch. If the snow under your track feels punchy, upside down, or hollow you know you've stumbled across a fresh wind slab. The biggest threat would be triggering a wind slab that breaks into older buried weak layers. See persistent slab.

This is the avalanche dragon that lives in the basement and has been quietly sleeping over the past few days. However, with the recent storm snow and winds this old cranky demon could wake up. This all started back in early January where a cold dry spell turned the snow surface into faceted (weak sugary snow) and is now buried 1-3 ft deep. While this is not a widespread problem it does pose a significant threat to certain slopes and should be avoided. These avalanches could be a season ender if caught and carried.

As the winds and snow built yesterday, so did the cornices. These overhanging giants should be avoided as they could be quite sensitive to the newly added weight. As always be suspicious of approaching edges or drop offs in the mountains. Give these cornices a wide berth as they usually break farther back than expected.