Yesterday's low and mid elevation damp snow and rain mix blanketed the old snow surface, creating damp, manky snow and in some places, unsupportable conditions. Until the snowpack completely cools off and locks up, you'll want to avoid any steep slope that feels unsupportable or punchy... kinda like a trap door. In addition, steer clear of terrain traps like gullies and road cuts where wet, heavy, cement-like debris can stack up very deeply.

Southwest winds cranked, blowing into the 50's and 60's along the ridges yesterday, whipping the new snow into dense drifts. While the storm snow appears to be well bonded to the old snow surface, I bet there's a slab or two lurking on the leeward side of upper elevation ridges and around terrain features like chutes and gullies. Today's fresh drifts are manageable, meaning they'll break at or below our skis, board, or sled. None-the-less if you're changing elevations or bowl hopping, re-evaluate the snow by tweaking small test slopes similar in aspect, elevation, and slope angle to what you want to ride. See how they're reacting before charging into a big, committing line.

Cornices have grown extremely large and recent warm temperatures are turning these boxcar monsters into unpredictable beasts. Once released, a cornice crashing down on the slope below can easily trigger an avalanche, entraining more snow then you might've bargained for and stacking up large piles of tree snapping debris.

As the storm starts to materializes and snow stacks up, wind drifts will form on the leeward side of upper elevation ridges and around terrain features like chutes and gullies. I suspect today's drifts won't become an issue until later in the day, but you'll definitely want to be aware of changing conditions and avoid any fat, rounded piece of snow, especially if it sounds or feels hollow like a drum.

I'm not convinced we're entirely done with our near surface facet and surface hoar problem children, but lately they've been pretty well-behaved. Trouble is... they're now buried several feet beneath the snow surface and if triggered, the end result is a going to be an unmanageable slide. Found on the north half of the compass in mid elevation terrain, with a little homework, by digging around you can easily identify slopes that have a suspect snowpack and simply avoid them.