The persistent weak layer is NOT totally dormant - upper elevation slopes facing northwest through northeast remain the bull-eye terrain where in isolated places a person could trigger a slab avalanche 2 to 4 feet deep. While the chance of triggering one of these deep slides has decreased with time, the size has not. A slide would likely be triggered from a shallower spot in the snow pack, and tracks on a slope do not indicate total stability of that slope. The overnight southerly winds added a little more weight to some of these slopes in the form of wind drifts. Steep, rocky northerly facing terrain with fresh wind drifts are particularly suspect, and even slopes that have already slid this season can slide again.

Overnight, the southerly winds drifted snow, especially along the high ridge lines and in open bowls. Look for clues you’re in the wind zone, such as an eroded patterned snow surface or new cornices and rounded, smooth drifts. These new wind slabs, or drifts, will be on the lee sides of ridge crests and around terrain features, like gully walls and sub ridges, especially at the upper elevations.

Clues recent wind erosion pattern (Kory Davis photo) and a cornice (Mark White photo)