Avalanche Canyon

It was a windy morning in the alpine. The wind was actively transporting snow at middle and upper elevations. Snow surfaces up to 8500 were mostly soft powder - we didn't travel on any aspects that harbored the crust noted from a few days ago. Upper-elevation northerly slopes appeared stripped due to the recent northerly winds. However, multiple aspects and elevations were being actively loaded by terrain-driven winds. We only went up to 9000', but drifting and thin wind slabs were observed starting around 8500 feet and were up to 8-10" in more exposed areas and sensitive to a person's weight.  Several inches of cohesionless surface faceting made for more difficult skinning in areas not affected by the wind.  

The recent wind, combined with a little recent snow, has increased the avalanche danger in areas exposed to the wind, mostly above 9000'. However, be on the lookout for drifts and pockets of wind-affected snow in consequential terrain as low as 8500'. It's not quite as simple as looking at the recent wind direction to know which slopes might be loaded - there are a lot of variable wind directions and swirling in the mountains that have loaded more than just S and SE aspects.  Keep your head on a swivel when approaching exposed rollovers, gullies or rocky outcrops. Look for cracking, stiff drifts and other signs of recent wind-transported snow - including avalanches.