Sunday's east and northeast winds cranked along the high ridges, whipping up a fresh batch of wind slabs sensitive to our additional weight. While I think the vast majority settled overnight, there may be a stubborn drift or two that reacts with a little provocation. And due to the strength, duration, and unusual east-northeast direction, drifts formed in odd places and lower downslope than you might expect. Today, you'll want to look for and continue avoiding steep wind drifted slopes facing the south half the compass, particularly slopes with a westerly component to its aspect. Remember, fresh drifts formed on slick sun crusts and todays avalanches may run further and pack a bigger punch than you might expect.

The snowpack is getting comfortable in its own skin and that's good news in terrain where the snowpack is deep.However, snow is a curious medium and all we need to do is find one inconsistency or a shallow zone, maybe around a rock or bush, collapse the pack, and now we've got a bigger slide than we might've bargained for. So my safe travel strategy is to think about suspect terrain I want to continue avoiding and that includes steep, rocky terrain and slopes that avalanched near the ground earlier in the season. And here's something to consider... we've got a "go anywhere" base, so if you're getting into steep, technical terrain, remember that even a small slide can knock you off your ride, slam you into a tree, and throw a curve ball at your day.