A steep, shallow, and complex slope at upper elevations where a natural avalanche occurred failing into the JDL (January Drought Layer) and breaking a good distance down the ridge. Check out more on this slide, here.

This past weeks storm was not enough to wake up our PWL in a widespread fashion, but that being said we saw a few slides that queued us in to where we are currently at in regards to our snowpack structure and hazard. On northwest through east facing slopes on mid and upper elevations, recent avalanche activity and snowpack tests suggest the likelihood of triggering this avalanche problem is going down. The ast few storms in conjunction with mild temps and strong spring sunshine go a long way to help a snowpack turn the corner. The good news is the snowpack is beginning to gain strength and other than a subtle whumph or two, we are encouraged to see it adjusting to the big mid-February storm. On the flip side, we are not out of the woods yet and all we need to do is find a weakness, where the slope is susceptible to our weight, maybe around a rock or a bush, collapse the pack, and now we're staring down the barrel of a dangerous avalanche.

With that in mind, I am still avoiding suspect areas where this avalanche dragon lives. Steep, rocky, shallow slopes on the north half of the compass that are complex and have a lot going on are still off the table, and I am going to continue to avoid them for the time being.

Yesterday, near Tower Mountain, multiple small, D1 wind slabs were observed on northeast through southeast aspects at upper elevations. Maybe not big enough to bury you, but enough to knock you off your rig and take you for a ride.

This past weeks storm snow in conjunction with variable winds from all directions, blowing at all speeds, formed wind-drifts in mid and upper elevation terrain in the wind-zone. Small in size and predictable, I expect most of these to be stubborn today, if not already settled out and bonded to the old snow surface.

This is a very manageable avalanche dragon to identify and an equally easy one to avoid. Simply steer clear and avoid fat, rounded pillows of snow, especially if they look textured and feel hollow.