JG's beautiful pit profile clearly illustrates where the pack is deep, it's comfortable in its own skin and can take a good thump. His take was... "Feeling like the snowpack is gaining strength but the persistent slab issue in your face doesn't inspire confidence to jump into steeper terrain." Sage advice fo sho.

However, where the pack is shallow, (like this older slide pictured above near Currant Creek that Tyler found yesterday) the jury is still out. Suspect areas include terrain that has already avalanched this year along with a vast majority of steep, shady slopes on the south half of the range... from about Trial Lake through Strawberry. As always in this case, the best offense is a good defense. Simply avoid steep, rocky, wind drifted slopes, especially if they've got a "trapdoor" or punchy feeling.

A storm is approaching and snow begins later today. No... winds won't get too crazy, but the fact is, there's no shortage of light snow avaiilable for transport. Today's drifts will be manageable in size and depth, but you could none-the-less get surprised on steep leeward slopes or near the entrances of steep chutes where even a small wind drift could take you for an unexpected ride. While not widespread, it's not completely straiight-forward and today you'll want to gather as much information as possible. Be on the lookout for clues to unstable snow such as shooting cracks and tweak small test slopes like road banks and see how they're reacting before getting into steep, commiting terrain.