Shallow fresh wind slabs and sensitive cornices formed in exposed upper elevation terrain with moderate northwest winds easily drifting the light snow from the weekend. These are still mostly of the manageable variety although probably a bit stiffer today, but they may still be quite sensitive. As usual it's best to avoid fresh drifts on steep slopes, and watch for potential wind slabs in and around terrain features like sub-ridges, gullies, and cliff bands. Drifts can appear chalky, rounded or bulging, and can sound hollow or drum-like. Be cautious along the ridges, since cornices might break further back than expected and cornice falls could trigger more dangerous avalanches on slopes below. Moderate west winds today will continue to build and stiffen the still developing wind slabs and cornices.

A new load from recent drifting might reactivate the early January weak layer in some isolated areas. I've been finding very weak faceted snow just under a widespread January 8 rime-crust in many areas, but my recent tests have shown this layer to be rather non-reactive. There are likely to be some exceptions, and avalanches might fail 1 to 2 feet deep on weak faceted snow created during the drawn-out January high pressure systems. The danger is pockety, meaning many slopes are fairly stable, but slopes with unstable snow probably exist and are interspersed. Steep drifted upper elevation slopes with generally shallow and weak snow cover are most suspect. You might trigger dangerous avalanches in some areas remotely, from a distance or worse, from below. Audible collapsing or whumpfing, and cracking are red flags indicating instability.