The surface snow is dreamy and the solid, go anywhere snow under our skis, board or sled is gonna suggest bomb-dot-com, green light conditions. However, we've gotta think not only about the snow we're riding in, but also the snow we're riding on and we've got a slightly upside-down cake. Yeah... underneath the surface fluff, a strong layer of snow rests on a persistent weak layer (PWL) now buried several feet deep in our snowpack. Crawling around on Sunday's sled triggered slide helped me realize how easy it is to get enticed into tagging big terrain... well duh, it's because the snow feels strong and super stable. However, this false sense of security lures us into steeper terrain and well out onto the slope before we find one weaker portion of the snowpack, collapse it (WHOOMPH), pull the legs out from underneath, and now we're staring down the barrel of a very dangerous avalanche.

Here's the deal... not every steep slope we ride is gonna slide. In fact, all the right components have to align. Common theme is... steep, rocky, heavily wind drifted slopes facing the north half of the compass remain sketchy and highly suspect. With all the great riding to be had, there's no reason the pull on the dogs tail, cause its bite is worse than its bark!