New and developing wind drifts will likely run naturally today and be sensitive to human provocation on many steep slopes at the mid and upper elevations. Over the past 18 hours, the winds have transported snow from east-southeast as well as southwest. Soft drifts will be found around the compass but more predominantly on west to north to east facing aspects. These drifts will be landing on very low density stellar dendrite snowflakes, well known to be very efficient if not tricky weak layers. Some drifts may triggered at a distance. Remember that shooting cracks are sure signs of unstable wind drifts.

*Note that due to the gusty nature of these winds, drifts may be found well off the ridgelines and eddied in unusual terrain features.

*Note also that we did not see a lot of wind with last Friday/Saturday's storm and there is a lot of snow available for transport.

Our weak layers are proliferating and our complex snowpack is becoming more complex. Today and tomorrow's snow and wind will only add additional stress to one if not both buried persistent weak layers.

The two most problematic weak layers are described below -

- A layer of faceted snow and various patches of surface hoar buried last Friday, now roughly a foot deep. Natural and human triggered avalanches in this layering have occurred in the past several days.

- The old dragons in the basement - facets and depth hoar from the early low tide conditions at and near the base of the snowpack, now buried 2-4' deep. Human triggered avalanches in this layering have occurred in the past several days.