In our travels yesterday we experienced sluffing in the new snow on steep terrain. Sluffs and loose dry snow avalanches will continue to be a problem today, especially during periods of heavy precipitation. Use steep test slopes and ski cuts to see if loose, uncohesive surface snow moves down slope. In big, steep terrain, sluffs can easily knock a rider off their feet. Avoid steep terrain with terrain traps below.

Additional snow today also has the potential to form soft storm slabs. Cracking in the snow surface is a good indicator of this type of instability. Blocks of snow between your skis on the skin trail indicate that a slab has developed. Any avalanche triggered in new or wind drifted snow today has the potential to step down to more deeply buried weak layers, causing larger more destructive avalanches.

A series of storms this week is putting more pressure on the deeply buried persistent weak layer that formed in November. This layer has shown signs of strengthening and stability tests continue to be less reactive. With a new load, it is best to avoid steep slopes that harbor this weak layer. Areas of concern include slopes with steep convexities or blind break-overs, thin snowpack areas along slope margins or near rock outcrops, and areas of steep, rocky, more radical terrain. Continue to exercise patience this week while the snow piles up. If we don't see any avalanches breaking deep down on this weak layer during these storms, I think we can start to put this problem behind us.