Old, hard wind slabs that developed over the course of the past week are becoming harder to trigger but they may still be possible. In my travels on Thursday, I found isolated wind slabs along ridge crests that were stubborn to crack and not well connected. Much of the terrain along ridge crests is scoured from shifting wind directions. The greatest danger seemed to be further down-slope where strong, southerly winds have deposited deep drifts on to N-NE-E aspects. Suspect hard surfaces that have a hollow feel underneath, and avoid steep, convex slopes that lure you down beyond the point of no return.

Weak interfaces continue to be observed in the snowpack but I've not found them to be reactive for some time. Additionally, wind loading over the past week failed to produce any natural avalanches on a buried weak layer. Nevertheless, they do exist and it may still be possible for a triggered wind slab to step down into a buried weak layer.