Due to widespread cracking while breaking trail up W aspects we opted to ski cut all steep and suspect terrain. The avalanche pictured below was triggered at the steepest point of the slope where there was a slight convex roll and a tree close by, those two features are likely trigger points where we most expected an avalanche to occur. Ski cutting the slope at that location produced a small soft slab R1-D1-SS on the NO interface. Not enough to bury anyone but certainly enough to push you off your feet and into the terrain trap trees below.

This result was exaclty what we had been identifying on the way up while breaking trail. Get out of the skin track once in awhile, assess the new snow. At times there can be a lot of blind leadership in the mountains and it is important for us all to see the big picture before we drop in.