You'd be hard pressed to trigger an avalanche today, though winds blew earlier in the week and a rogue pocket or two in a cross-loaded chute above treeline isn't totally out of the question. So, with generally Green Light conditions, of course we're setting our sights on tagging big terrain. However, before diving head first, pump the brakes for a second and evaluate each slope on an individual basis. If I'm in steep, committing terrain, I consider the consequences of triggering even a small slide which could knock me off me feet and instantly ruin my day.

Not much going on at the moment, but looking in the future - the snow surface is getting whiplash from cold temperatures at night and warm temperatures during the day. The result is that many slopes have very weak, faceted snow close to the surface or what we call Near Surface Facets (NSF). This weak snow was capped by Tuesday's few inches of snow. Mark found it late in the week in Soapstone (photo below of buried surface hoar).

I found it on steep slopes in Chalk Creek Friday where both the surface snow and NSF are so weak, it simply sluffs, fanning out below you. For now, Tuesday's new snow just caps and preserves this weak layer. It won't be an avalanche problem until more snow stacks on top.