Winds are beginning to increase and there's no shortage of light density snow available to blow around and form wind drifts sensitive to the weight of a rider. This is a manageable avalanche problem because the shallow slabs break at or below our skis, board, or sled. But don't get lulled into thinking this is the only avalanche dragon we're dealing with this weekend. Underneath these fresh drifts is a dense cohesive slab, and it's resting on a very weak snowpack, especially on mid and upper elevation slopes facing the north half of the compass. These are the kind of conditions where most avalanche accidents occur because the snow we're riding on feels strong and solid. It allows us to get well out onto the slope before we collapse the hill (whoomph), trigger the slab, and now we're staring down a dangerous slide that's breaking deeper and wider than we expected, taking out the entire seasons snowpack as the avalanche slams us into rocks and trees.
Making matters more complicated is the fact that the region didn't experience a widespread natural avalanche cycle. So you're not going to be looking around staring at big, tree snapping avalanches. Nope... many slopes remain in the balance, just waiting for a trigger to come along and knock the legs out from underneath. What's going to make things more tricky today is, you'll be able to trigger avalanches from a distance and on relatively flat terrain, so you need to consider what type of terrain you're connected to. In other words, what steep slopes are above and adjacent to where you're riding.
Today you'll need to tone down your objectives and think about the consequences of triggering a slide. It doesn't mean you can't ride. In fact, you can have a blast on low angle slopes with no steep terrain above or adjacent to where you're riding.
We experienced large, booming collapses yesterday on relatively low angle terrain.... a huge red flag. Here, Trent points to the culprit- a layer of midpack facets formed during the very cold spell the first week of December.