The snowpack is looking promising as it continues to strengthen. Pits between 8,000 and 8,500 on northerly aspects:

- on slopes that had avalanched and had a thinner snowpack, the 1m slab on top of the facets was 1F hard with 4F hard facets in the bottom 40 cms.

- on slopes with a deeper snowpack (2 meters), the slab on top of the PWL is 100-150 cms thick and 1F to Pencil hard, with 4F+ hard facets that are damp in places.

Despite the Moderate danger and signs of increasing stability, we slowly and cautiously stepped into steeper avalanche terrain (> 30° in steepness), continually evaluating the snowpack where at one point, we stopped 2/3 of the way down the slope as we saw a steep rollover that we did not want to commit to and ascended back up the slope.

The more likely place to trigger an avalanche in the PWL is in steep terrain with a thin snowpack.

Photos of

1. Rain runnels in the snow surface at lower elevations.

2. Wind-affected terrain along exposed ridgelines.

3. A branch stuck to the uphill side of a tree as the avalanche swept by, likely occurring on the January 13 cycle.