It was a bitter cold day under mostly sunny skies in the mountains yesterday with 8" of low density powder sitting on top of a hard surface. In our travels we encountered isolated, unstable wind drifts up to a foot deep on leeward slopes facing primarily north and east. Breezy SW winds today will continue to transport snow on to these aspects. We also observed evidence of loose snow avalanches that ran during the height of the storm on Tuesday. The underlying bed surface is slick and hard, and triggered avalanches may run faster and farther than you expect. This makes even small avalanches dangerous, especially in consequential terrain such as above cliffs or rock bands. Utilize slope cuts to see how the snow is behaving before jumping in to consequential terrain. If you see cracking or blocks of snow breaking off, you've found an unstable wind slab. In spite of the cold temps yesterday, the high angle of the sun dampened exposed surfaces, and many areas will be crusted over this morning.