Mr. Ted scroggin lays it out simply and states in his ob, “Felt like a status quo day with no big red flags, but the snowpack structure is still priority,”.

As we see fewer avalanches and obvious red flags like cracking and collapsing it may seem like the weak layer is becoming less reactive, and it is. But there's still a likely chance of triggering an avalanche up to 4’ deep and hundreds of feet wide, like the one in the photo below.

How am I managing this avalanche problem? I'm steering clear of avalanche terrain on the north half of the compass, and gunning for lower angle, wind resistant slopes on the south half of the compass. Good riding, reduced avalanche hazard… seems like the perfect combo.

Winds have done their work over the past few days and I expect to find fresh, sensitive drifts, specific to upper elevation slopes facing north through southeast. We are used to managing this avalanche problem, but when triggered today's wind slabs have the potential to break deeper and wider than we might expect, and get out of hand fast. Look for and avoid wind-effected snow that looks pillow-like, rounded, or sounds hollow underneath our sled or skis and is specific to steep starting zones and cross-loaded features of terrain like gullies and convex rolls.