Yesterday, just a small bump in the east winds causes us to see sensitive slabs of wind drifted snow in mid and upper elevation terrain features such as ridgelines and gullies. Since yesterday, the winds have only continued to increase and will continue increasing throughout the day. The new snow combined with increasing winds should create some soft slabs of wind drifted snow at upper elevations, and mid-elevation terrain features such as sub-ridges and gullies. These wind slabs will be shallow and overall small in size, but these new wind drifts are sitting atop of a firm snow surface which will make them very sensitive and cause them to run far and fast. Even a small avalanche would be enough to knock a person off their feet and through complex terrain.

Look for any slopes with signs of wind drifted snow, and avoid those slopes. Wind-affected snow often looks wavy, rounded, pillowy, and can sound hollow when walking or riding on it.

Since Wednesday, anywhere between 10-24 inches of light snow has fallen on an array of firm snow surfaces in the backcountry. In area's sheltered from the east winds, I would expect to continue seeing shallow new snow avalanches today. The primary concern will be fast running sluffs in steep terrain, these may run naturally if there are any periods of heavy snowfall this afternoon. Any area that still held any lingering soft snow for multiple days will be suspect for some shallow soft slabs to form. Remember that even a small avalanche can be problematic in very steep and complicated terrain. Think about the terrain you are traveling above today.

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