Recent west and northwest winds helped whip up a fresh batch of wind drifts and yesterday these were sensitive to the additional weight of a rider. Lots of cracking and collapsing was reported, especially at mid and lower elevations where Tuesday's rime crust is supporting the weight of all the new snow. Today's avalanche danger is mostly manageable and shallow soft slabs will predictably break at or below your skis, board, or sled. One wild card is the more pronounced avalanche danger at mid and lower elevations where the snowpack is slightly weaker and may therefore be a bit more reactive to your additional weight. Don't let your guard down on steep slopes near the trailheads as you're headed to the big, upper elevation terrain .

Tuesday's rime crust is capping a layer of weak sugary near surface facets. And yes, that's a thin layer of surface hoar on top of the crust... yikes!

With a foot of new snow on top, there's plenty of cracking and collapsing or whoomphing sounds. Thanks JG for the great pics!

You'd have to go out of your way to trigger an avalanche that breaks into old snow near ground today. However, if your travels take you into steep, complex terrain today, stop for a moment and carefully assess the snowpack and think about the consequences of triggering an avalanche.