Yesterday’s winds were drifting snow at all elevations and on all aspects - high ridge lines, mid elevations bowls and subridges and even into the low elevations. Avoid the dense and cakey slabs of wind drifted snow on steep slopes and watch for these drifts in unusual spots at the mid and lower elevations. These drifts may be even more stubborn today, wanting to break above you. Instead, head for very wind sheltered terrain.

Photo: Fink and Slack

It has gotten more complicated - there is weak, sugary faceted snow mid snowpack and near the ground. You are most likely to trigger a slide on one of the mid-pack faceted weak layers on a wind drifted slope. Slides breaking on sugary facets can be remotely triggered from a distance or from below, and would most likely on a wind drifted slope.

Slopes with a shallow snowpack, such as slopes that have slid one or more times this year and the Mill Creek Canyon and Park City ridge line terrain, are where slides are more likely to break near the ground. Look at the photo below, and see how fast the slide broke down into the facets near the ground.

Scotts Bluff slides: Mark White photo

Today’s wild card - much warmer temperatures and the possibility of direct sun are in today’s forecast. This combination may heat the snow surface on steep sunny slopes, and wet loose sluffs will become possible. Look for telltale signs of heating snow - the snow becoming heavy, damp or sticky, roller balls or small wet loose sluffs starting to run. This means it’s time to get off of and out from under the steep sunny slopes that are heating.