Newberry

Avalanches large enough to bury or injure a rider are unlikely on Saturday.  Very small instabilities in the new snow are possible, particularly where the wind has blown in deeper deposits.  Continue to use safe travel techniques, and identify terrain traps like cliffs and gullies that could make an otherwise inconsequential avalanche more serious.

It was nice to see some new snow in the monument today, and our weather station near Paulina Lake is showing that we picked up 1-1.5 inches.  In the majority of the terrain, this isn't enough new snow to create avalanches that could bury or injure a rider.  It is unlikely that newly wind blown snow will be more than 6 inches deep.  The new snow has been falling on a wide variety of snow surfaces.  On Thursday, I observed very weak surface snow (surface hoar and near surface facets) on shady slopes below 7000 ft.  New snow that falls on that weak snow is more likely to be reactive, but again it is predominantly too shallow to be of concern.

Don't put your blinders on just because the danger is forecast to be Low.  Continue to use safe travel techniques and take the time to assess the snow conditions.  It is always a good idea to identify terrain traps like cliffs or gullies that can make even a small avalanche have bigger consequences.