The good news is... where the snowpack is deep, it's happy in its own skin. However, snow is a curious medium and all we need to do is find one inconsistency or a shallow zone, maybe around a rock or bush, collapse the pack, and now we've got a bigger slide than we might've bargained for. So my safe travel strategy is to think about suspect terrain I want to continue avoiding and that includes steep, rocky terrain and slopes that avalanched near the ground earlier in the season. And here's something to consider... we've got a "go anywhere" base, so if you're getting into steep, technical terrain, remember that even a small slide can knock you off your ride, slam you into a tree, and throw a curve ball at your day.

Any bump in wind speed will instantly form shallow drifts reactive to our additional weight. Found mostly along the leeward side of upper elevation ridges, I bet a few fresh drifts lurk around terrain features like chutes and gullies. Easily managed with terrain choices, simply lose some elevation and you lose the problem.