Pockets of soft and hard wind drifts are now scattered across the range and may be found on many slopes. Look for slightly rounded, smooth pillows and areas with more of a scalloped appearance. Remember that with soft slabs, you're "in" the snow; for hard slabs, you're "on top of" it. Hard slabs have a nasty habit - I think Ev likes to say - of pulling out above you, further narrowing your margin for escape. Treat wind damaged terrain with suspicion today.

The wild card - the near bullet-proof rain crust from March 22nd sits beneath some potential weak layers of graupel and small grained facets. I am interested to know if the additional wind loading may allow any triggered drifts to step down another 10" or so to this excellent bed surface. Greg Gagne and I both have more info on this layering - here and here.

We feel that the deep slab issues are trending toward dormancy and human triggered slides are very unlikely.

The rain event from last week might prove to be short-term pain, long term gain. By this I mean to imply that while Thursday/Friday's storm greatly stressed the snowpack and produced both wet slabs and localized areas of deep slabs, it has since created a stout bridge up to perhaps 10,000' on all aspects. The mid-pack and basal weaknesses continue to adjust and gain strength. Mark's video above helps to demonstrate our thinking with this.

Remember that risk is inherent in mountain travel. One can never diminish it entirely and for some of us this is part of the attraction. The allure. That the outcome is uncertain. But we can travel in appropriate terrain. And strive to understand snow and avalanches. Dial in the rescue protocol. Work to understand our own and our partners' weaknesses and blindspots. But the world is as it is and it's our destiny to move with that rather than shape it to our own desires and convenience, as this otherwise only brings about all manner of paradox and difficulty.

With that -

Cornices continue to be suspect along the ridgelines.

Shallow damp push-alanches may be possible with daytime warming, particularly in low to mid-elevation wind protected sunlit terrain.

Full depth glide releases are to be considered in the Big Cottonwood drainages of Stairs, Broads, and Mill B South.

Slide-for-life conditions from last week's rain event also exist in some steep terrain.