The last week's wind have had obvious effects on exposed areas and ridgelines. Rippled texture across cross-load slopes, young sastrugi along ridges, and continuing cornice formation are present in the upper basins. Primary concern is the crust on solar aspects and its interface with the New Years (wind-affected) storm slab. This interface was a mixed bag in the Yellowjacket/Pole Canyon/Alexander area. While some southerly aspects showed weakness, much of the new snow was not deep and slabbed up enough to propagate like we saw in the upper Cottonwoods this last week.

Northerly hand pits from 8000-9500' showed little to be alarmed about, deeper facets rounding and the only issues associated with wind slabs along ridgelines.

Wind slab along lee side of ridges produced a few avalanches incorporating the last storm slab in the usual spots (photos 1-3). Unclear if they were all natural cornice fall or if any were triggered by last weekend's traffic.