It feels like spring, but in some terrain on the eastern front, the snowpack has remained thin and sugary in places... think, slopes that have avalanched several times this year or what we call repeaters. Here's the problem... recent storm snow blanketed the range with a thick coat of white paint and everything looks uniform and feels super solid under our skis, board, or sled. However, if you trench down, you'll still find weak, sugary facets beneath the surface, now buried between 1' and 3’ deep and that's the devious culprit behind recent persistent slab avalanches.

As I begin to set my sights on bigger terrain this spring I'm keepin' it tight and simply avoiding shallower areas of the snowpack like steep, rocky terrain where I'm more likely to trigger an avalanche into an old persistent weak layer. These shallow areas are between 1' and 3’ deep, and sometimes just pulling out my probe and getting a feel for snow depths is helpful, steering me away from suspect areas.

When I step out, I make sure the slopes I'm choosing don't have any overhead hazard, and offer no consequences like trees, cliff bands, or gullies in the runout below. In addition, I'm exposing only one person at a time to potential hazard.

Most solar slopes are baked and there's little snow available to blow around. However, the Uinta's are a ginormous range and there are plenty of terrain features that accelerate wind, forming drifts on the leeward side of ridges, along with terrain features like chutes and gullies. You know the program... keep an eye out for and avoid rounded pillows and stiff, textured drifts that sound hollow like a drum.

It’s no joke that 40% of us are killed by trauma in avalanche accidents, meaning we’re dead from slamming into a stump, rock, or tree on the ride down, before we’re even buried by the avalanche we just triggered. As we step out, whether it is into the high-country, or just moving to a bigger slope, keep in mind the severity of the terrain you're entering and consider the consequences of triggering even a small avalanche that unexpectedly knocks me off our feet.