Let's face it... our snowpack has issues. It's no secret, we have persistent weaknesses buried deep in the snowpack and they're slow to heal. This type of structure is particularly dangerous because we don't even have to be on a steep slope in order to trigger a slide... we just need to be connected to it. But here's the deceiving twist, the range is fat and white and the snowpack is gonna feel really strong and supportable. As a matter of fact, we can ride many slopes without incident and think we're good to go. However, recent avalanches breaking to the ground suggest all we need to do is find a shallow, weak portion of the snowpack, perhaps around a rock or bush that we can't see underneath the snow, collapse the slope (whoomph), and now we're staring down the barrel of a dangerous avalanche.

It doesn't mean we can't ride, it does mean we need to avoid bulls-eye terrain where unmanageable avalanche dragons live and it's pretty straight-forward. The common theme for all the big avalanches we've seen recently have occurred on steep, upper elevation, wind drifted slopes facing the north half of the compass.

Here's some good advice from Andy and Bo who were near Bald Mountain last weekend.... "The take away from today was that the range is having a great season, and hopefully an even better spring. Until then we have to be patient and let the snowpack heal. Sometimes patience is difficult, but so is trying to outthink the snowpack. Here's the out: riding conditions continue to be stellar in protected terrain at mid to low elevations. This is where we can ski and ride in low angle terrain, boondock mellow trees and find the best snow while avoiding the persistent weak layers all together.