Southerly winds continue to blow and drift snow, and unstable areas likely exist on steep, upper elevation, northerly facing slopes, primarily in areas where there was pre-existing snow. The pre-existing snow has deteriorated into a layer of weak, sugary, faceted snow. This will likely turn into a persistent weak layer problem as more snow is piled on top. But for now, if you find yourself in steep, upper elevation, northerly facing terrain, avoid recent deposits of wind drifted snow. Even a small avalanche triggered in these shallow snow conditions could have devastating consequences.

Poor snowpack structure with a persistent weak layer is developing on upper elevation northerly aspects. In isolated areas, slabs formed by recent and wind drifted snow may have created enough of a load that you could trigger an avalanche down to this weak layer. For the most part, this condition exists in nearly inaccessible terrain, but it's something we'll want to keep a keen eye on. When enough snow accumulates that we can think about real skiing and riding, steep northerly facing aspects will be off-limits for the foreseeable future.