Recent winds blowing from the south and southwest stripped snow from windward slopes and loaded steep, leeward slopes facing northwest through the southeast, especially in the windzone, above treeline. And although not quite as reactive as the past few days, I suspect if you were looking to trigger an avalanche you could find a pocket or two in the alpine. And remember... today's avalanches may break deeper and wider than you might expect and could easily knock you off your feet and take you for a body bruising ride through rocks, stumps, or deadfall.

Be on the lookout for red flags like recent avalanches, cracking and collapsing, or whoomphing sounds, and steer clear of fat, rounded pillows of snow. Consider avoiding drifted areas in the wind zone today and seek out wind sheltered terrain where coverage and riding are best and the avy hazard is generally low. ... done, done, and done :)

A northwest facing slope at 9,700' on Hoyt Peak where a stiff wind drift was triggered Sunday.

The snowpack didn't get walloped by the weekend storm, but it's weak and I don't necessarily trust it. The good news... there's plenty of low angle slopes out there where we can ride safely today and not trigger a slide. The bad news... there's not a lot of obvious red flags, but don't let the lack out avalanche activity lure you into steep terrain today. It's a long winter and we're just getting started. So, let's do our homework and practice a little patience, because right now, steep slopes facing the north half of the compass are guilty until proven otherwise.