Into the early afternoon yesterday and the evening, the winds began to pick up at the upper-most elevation band. This morning ridgetop winds are gusting above 30 mph. With a wide variety of surface conditions before this most recent storm, and 12"-16" inches of snow available to transport new drifts will have formed overnight. Winds are forecast to continue gusting near 30 mph at ridgelines, with plenty of snow to drift into these sensitive new wind slabs. Watch for plumes off the high peaks and blowing snow as these are obvious signs of wind-drifts forming.

The key is to identify and avoid any signs of wind drifted snow such as rounded, smooth or scalloped drifts on steep slopes.

At the mid-elevations some human triggered new snow avalanches could remain possible in cold, north-facing terrain that was sheltered from the wind. There's generally little mystery with these types of avalanches: they break at your feet or sled and respond to cornice drops and ski cuts. Keep an eye on your partners; carry and know how to use your rescue gear.

We still have a potentially unstable snow structure of a strong slab over a persistent weak layer of faceted snow near the ground on upper elevation northwest through east facing terrain.

When will this layer go away? That is the true question, we are beginning to feel a bit better about the layer of facets on the ground at mid-elevations. We haven't seen avalanche activity on this layer in over week, the facets are no longer pouring out of the pit wall like sugar, and people are starting to push out onto some steeper terrain for the first time this season. Yesterday, after spending some time in the mid-elevation band, digging in multiple locations, and practicing safe travel techniques Trent said he skied his first north-facing slope over 36 degrees for the season. These are all good signs, but it doesn't mean we are in the clear. These facets are not yet dormant and still need time until they are no longer an issue. Every time we head into mid and upper-elevation north-facing slopes we need to evaluate snow and terrain very carefully.

The slopes that are the most suspect for this persistent weak layer, are very rocky places or places with a thin snowpack (less than a ski pole in depth). While out traveling look for signs of a shallow snowpack by probing the depth with your ski pole or probe.