Went back to Wilson today to see if we could ski the Wilson Chutes, basically all we had to do was get a handle on if there was a slab present or not. Examining the starting zone we discovered there was no slab present and the only hazard was punching through the pack and hitting terra firma. The tails of our skis would punch through the pack now and then but it actually turned out to being some of the better skiing of the year. Would not want to be in this terrain with much new snow accumulation, or stiff winds, that was our reasoning to get it while we could. Only instabilities noted were sluffing of the surface in steeper terrain. Photos, One of the Wilson Chutes, sluffing in steeper terrain, low cloud deck in the afternoon, pretty good facet skiing..

Moderate, but on the rise with more snow and wind in the forecast.

FORECASTER COMMENTS:

I was with Mark today and think he summed it up well. I've been getting into a number of steeper northeast facing slopes since the new year. I've been in places where the pack is relatively shallow, in the two foot range. The snowpack has become quite punchy in these areas showing how weak it is. The thin Christmas slab has disappeared in many places and where it is still present it seems patchy, scattered and not well connected. I've been avoiding places that have seen significant wind damage/loading as these places my still be problematic. I've been able to ski these steeper slopes without the feeling of having to look over my shoulder. These slopes will be off limits again very soon as it appears we actually may get enough snow through this weekend to form another slab. - Kobernik