As the faceting process takes over the snow pack, there are areas where it is possible to trigger a loose, faceted snow avalanche. This danger exists primarily on steep, shady, sheltered slopes at mid to upper mid elevations.You can recognize these areas where the snow is unsupportable, or barely supportable for a skier or snowmobile, and where you can stick your ski pole right through to the ground. Though not large, these loose snow avalanches can sweep you of your feet, slamming you into trees or carrying you over a rock band.

The snow pack is currently very weak, and in many cases, complex, with a variety of weak faceted layers, crust/facet combinations, as well as depth hoar. Persistent slabs themselves are deteriorating, but they can still be found, primarily on upper mid-elevation terrain facing the north half of the compass. Spatial variability is the key phrase here with a a wide range of varying snow depths, particularly in exposed, upper elevations. Persistent north winds have scoured typical starting zones, so areas to suspect are further down slope than usual. This danger is very isolated, and persistent slabs would be difficult to difficult trigger, nevertheless, they would be fairly large and dangerous.

In my travels Thursday, I did run across an isolated wind slab located beneath a prominent rock out crop. It was soft and shallow, as well as deteriorating, but worth noting nevertheless. As you travel across big, open terrain, take note of suspect terrain features where these very isolated pockets may exist.