The calendar might suggest we're rounding out February and turning the corner into March Madness, but the snowpack feels and looks similar to what we usually see in mid January. So, if the snowpack is running a month behind, I need to realign my mindset to the cold, dark days near the turn of the New Year, and continue to pump the brakes and gather as much intel as I can. When I look under the hood I realize our snow structure is tricky, it's complicated, and it's harboring multiple layers of faceted snow. Indeed, we've got a complex snowpack that feels deceivingly solid underfoot, but really showed its personality last weekend once we kicked the legs out from underneath. In fact, riders confirmed our theories, triggering numerous and notable slides, failing on a host of problematic weak layers, now buried 2-4' beneath the snow surface.

Here's the conundrum... we're not seeing the usual red flags like cracking and collapsing, but recent avalanches are natures freebie and the biggest red flag. So how do we manageable an unruly avalanche dragon? Simply steer clear of it and instead opt for non-avalanche terrain with no overhead hazard. Done and done!

Today's wind drifts are stubborn and largely welded in place, but remember.... even a small piece of snow can quickly knock us off our feet, and boss us around, resulting in a body-brusing ride in sustained steep terrain. If you're stepping out and tagging big slopes have an exit strategy planned. While this is a straight-forward avalanche problem, you'll still need to be on your toes and continue looking for and avoiding fat, rounded pillows of snow and listen for slopes that sound hollow like a drum.