The Bottom Line: 2-6″ of snowfall this week was redistributed by strong southeast winds, and deposited onto gullies and lee slopes above 2,500ft. These recently wind loaded areas may still be sensitive to human triggering and should be treated as suspect. We still have a few weak layers of concern in the midpack, and surface slides could step down, causing a wide and destructive avalanche. Cornices will be highly dangerous. Stay way back from any snow ledges or cornices on ridgelines or summits. Focus on avoiding convexities and cross-loaded areas, and on using the terrain to limit your exposure as a group to any slopes that could produce a slide.

Wind slabs are resting on a variety of different weak surfaces (rough, smooth, ice, melt-freeze crusts, sun crusts, sastrugi, wind slab and diurnal facets, or weak sugar snow.) Be aware of this variability of weaknesses across the landscape. Stability is highly dependent on aspect and elevation.

Practice good group management, communication and decision making. Do not ski/ride on the same slope as another group. Travel one at a time or with enough spacing so that only one person is exposed to an avalanche path. 

Our deeper weak layers have become less reactive in snowpits, but smaller slides could still step down and trigger them, especially in steep, complex, or rocky terrain.

• Buried surface hoar from Feb 4 is sitting over the Jan 25th melt freeze crust, about ~4-5′ deep. There are also small-grained facets on this crust.
• An unlikely to trigger, but high consequence deep slab layer remains. The “Big Warm-Up layer” from Nov 17th is not to be forgotten about. Although currently dormant, a smaller slide triggered on the upper snowpack could step down and trigger this deadly beast near the ground.

Snow pit from Mar 21 in Transitonal Zone (N aspect 3400ft) showing poor structure and persistent weak layers below the 3/17 snowfall