Although it feels like spring, the snowpack represents and looks similar to what we usually see in mid-winter. Over the past week we have seen persistent slab avalanches failing naturally, and triggered by humans 1-3' deep and up to a football field wide. Digging down with your shovel or track it is easy to see what is going on. The Uinta's have a snow structure that's complicated and harbors multiple layers of sugary, faceted snow. In the attempt to keep it simple, I turn my attention to the two types of terrain where the chances of triggering an avalanche are more likely, and I try to break them down below:

Slopes that have similar characteristics to the ones above, are the exact slopes where we've seen recent avalanche activity. As Craig always says, when snowpack is the question terrain is our answer. With that in mind, I am still avoiding slopes with this avalanche problem and practicing patience as every slope will have its day, but some times we just have to wait to play.

Cornices are enormous and beginning to show signs of life with this weeks warm spell. Large pieces of snow are breaking off naturally, and from our additional weight and are breaking further back up the ridge than we might expect.

When traveling on ridgelines, give them respectable space and do your best to stay on rock or any obvious signs of terrestrial ground. Traveling below, keep eyes peeled above you and pay attention during the hottest part of the day. Ya, it stinks having a school bus tumble down a mountain towards you unexpectedly, but it also turns even worse if that school bus triggers an avalanche.