NW winds have been elevated for the past 36 hours. Small, soft slabs continue to develop on the lee side of ridge crests and terrain features above treeline. These slabs will be shallow and small in size. Expect them to be sensitive and crack under the weight of your skis. While they might not be big enough to bury you, any avalanche will be a rough ride through rocks, given the shallow early season conditions. If you are traveling in the alpine, look out for and avoid fresh drifts. On some slopes, soft slabs may fail on pre-existing buried facets.

Out of the wind zone, it is becoming less likely to trigger an avalanche on the buried persistent weak layer with each passing day. The weak layer continues to adjust to the load, and it has been two weeks since the natural avalanche cycle that ran during the pre-Thanksgiving storm. However, poor snowpack structure remains. The overall snowpack has been getting weaker, but the slab hasn't completely deteriorated and still exists over the top of weak facets on many slopes. It is hard to trust this setup, especially with our shallow snowpack. The weight of a skier can more easily find a trigger point or "not-so-sweet" spot with a shallow snowpack. Trigger points include steep convexities, or shallow points along slope margins and near rock outcrops.