Yesterdays drifts were quite reactive to my additional weight, yet very manageable and predictably breaking out in front of my skis and sled. I think today's drifts might be a little thicker and possibly more stubborn but are every bit as easy to detect by their fat, rounded appearance and easy to avoid, by losing some elevation and steering towards wind sheltered terrain. The wild card is... recent drifts rest on a slick Christmas Eve rain crust that provides a resistance free surface for avalanches to run on, and that means today's avalanches might pack a little more punch than you'd expect, especially on sustained, steep slopes.

Looking into the future... raincrusts in the snowpack can be a problem child once they're buried, so I'm gonna keep my eyes on this setup and see how it plays out knowing that some of the bigger mid and late season train-wrecks we've had in the western Uinta's involve a raincrust/faceted snow/slab trifecta.

From record warm temperatures to a good shot of Christmas Eve rain followed by rapid cooling, our snowpack has been yanked all over the map this week. Sure, weird weather makes for weird snowpacks, but I'm super encouraged to see the snowpack looking and feeling quite pedestrian... very receptive to ying and yang temperature swings, rebounding nicely in the past 72 hours, and becoming more comfortable in its own skin. In fact, 4 out of 5 basal weak layers surveyed say they're ready to settle down, buy a home in the outskirts of Francis, and concentrate on piecing together the DIY barrel sauna kit they received from the in-laws for Christmas... good news. Of course, reading through the detailed, piece by piece construction diagram might lead to a bit of unexpected and misunderstood friction, much like triggering a slide that breaks deeper and wider than you might expect, especially on steep, rocky slopes facing the north half of the compass.

Current North Slope snow structure in northeast facing terrain at 9,410 feet