Becoming more the exception than the rule, I suspect you could still trigger a slide that breaks deeper and wider than you might expect as illustrated in the image above. (Ted's write-up from earlier this week is found, here.) And while I think recent warm temperatures have somewhat shrink-wrapped our snowpack and it's not nearly as reactive as earlier in the week, I'm not ready to hang my hat (as if I owned one :) on the snowpack structure 'cause it's an untrustworthy gong show. We might forget about the different layers of snow, but the snowpack has an amazing memory and it tells me... early season snow turned persistent weak layer homesteads beneath a strong, dense, cohesive slab that developed from several storms worth of snow, coupled with strong winds. But it's not a one-size-fits-all kinda snowpack and the biggest clue to our quirky snowpacks personality are recently triggered avalanches on mid and upper elevation, polar slopes, breaking 1-3 feet deep, failing on old snow near the ground. Steep, rocky slopes with a thin, shallow snowpack are at the center of the bullseye terrain and need to be avoided.

Here's the conundrum... in wind-sheltered, mid-elevation terrain, the slab is softer and not quite as reactive, but let's not take our eyes off the prize... it's still a strong snow over weak snow setup and that structure is always a big, red flag. Local snowpro and avy-savvy guide Joel O'Rourke posted this observation from the Wolf Creek zone illustrating the current setup.

The snowpack is still suggesting it's reactive to our additional weight. Booming collapses or shooting cracks like on this road cut above Andy's sled are big red flags.

I suspect most of our snow is either welded or pressed in place and I bet you'd have to go out of your way to trigger a piece of wind drifted snow. However, the Uinta's are a big zone and the terrain can channel snow into unusual places. That said, I'm gonna continue to look for and avoid dense, textured, rounded pillows of snow, especially if they sound hollow like a drum. I'm also steering clear of cross-loaded terrain features like chutes, gully walls, and cut banks.