Northwest winds ramped up this morning and they'll have no problem whipping up a fresh batch of soft slabs. Reports from steep leeward terrain yesterday indicate sluffing in the new snow and wind drifts predictably breaking at or below your skis, board, or sled.... super manageable. Not so manageable is the unpredictable nature of larger slides breaking in mid and lower elevation terrain and drainages where the snowpack is slightly weaker and may therefore be a bit more reactive to your additional weight. This is the type of terrain where we usually go to play it safe and this theory might actually work against us. Not much has changed since Friday when there were numerous reports of widespread cracking and collapsing. The culprit is Tuesday's rime crust... it's supporting the weight of all the new snow and there's weak facets underneath. 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!
