The snowpack is really settling and stabilizing nicely. There was natural avalanche activity within the new snow from the last storm. This new snow seems to have stabilized and does not appear very sensitive to people after a couple of days of settling. As far as I know, there were no significant avalanches that broke into the old November Persistent Weak Layer during or after the last storm. This is good news. (
TAP/CLICK FOR FULL UPDATED DETAILS OF THE NOVEMBER WEAK LAYER PROGRESSION)
Personally, I'm willing to start stepping out cautiously into some selective steeper terrain. A lot has happened in a short amount of time so I'm holding my cards fairly tight still. However, all indicators are pointing to better stability.
If you are thinking about getting into steeper terrain, here are some thoughts:
- Only expose one person at a time to steep slopes.
- Make sure your party is not grouped up at the bottom of steep slopes.
- Make sure everyone is equipped with the proper avalanche gear and knows how to use it.
- The most likely places to find trouble are going to be on the more radical steep upper elevation terrain that faces northwest, north, northeast and east.
- Don't monkey around with cornices. They are large, pretty fresh and are likely to break off if provoked.
