The writing is on the wall and it's pretty clear we've got plenty of signs indicating the snowpack teeters on the edge. Booming collapses, shooting cracks, and the biggest sign of avalanches.... AVALANCHES!

So here's the deal- the snowpack is complex, we have a persistent weak layer in the mid portion of the pack, and this fragile structure experienced a rapid change earlier in the week when Tuesday's storm slammed down on it. Our snowpack needs a little time to get comfortable in its own skin.

Many slopes hang in the balance waiting for a trigger like us to roll along and knock the legs out from underneath. This is the setup where the wheels come off the bus because we can trigger slides from the flats, low on the slope, from a distance, or from adjacent slopes. We don't need to be on the slope... just connected to it.

This is the kind of avalanche dragon where we pull the entire log pile down on top of us, even if we're playing on low angle terrain.

But you don't have to ride blind... so, tweak small test slopes, looking for and listening to signs of unstable snow like whoomping sounds and sudden collapses of the snowpack or shooting cracks in front of your skis, board, or sled. And of course the biggest clue of all... recent avalanches, especially on the same types of slopes you wanna ride on.

Andy was on the south half of the range yesterday and took a look at this recent slide initiated by a natural cornice fall. His great trip report is found here

Recent wind drifts settled and gained strength the past few days and won't be quite as widespread or touchy today. But as we know, the Uinta's are a big place and a few lingering wind drifts may break deeper and wider than you might expect. The ticket is to avoid pulling on the dogs tail. Steer clear of steep wind drifted slopes and terrain features like chutes and gullies which appear fat and rounded or sound hollow like a drum. And remember... our snowpack is super shallow and triggering even a small slide can take you for a body-bruising ride through rocks and stumps barely hidden under the thin snowpack.