Teddy bear trees

<p>Strong to extreme reverse loading on Teddy bear trees. Came out onto the open face below ridge top to find strong, upslope wind gusts and intense blowing snow. Surface snow was starting to form slabs so we transitioned quickly and chose mellow lines down to valley bottom. Within those 10 minutes between transition and the ski out , numerous wind slabs up to 25cm thick were being ski cut and remotely triggered on East facing steeper (30 degreeish) rolls. Propagations was width of feature. Windslabs were failing on 2-3mm rimmed, fist resistance stellars. </p>

Terrain Ridden

Dense trees, Mellow slopes, Open trees.

Terrain Avoided

Alpine slopes, Convex slopes, Steep slopes.

Avalanche Conditions

Slab avalanches today or yesterday.

30cm + of new snow, or significant drifting, or rain in the last 48 hours.

Whumpfing or drum-like sounds or shooting cracks.

Snow Conditions

Deep powder, Hard, Wind affected.

Weather Conditions

Stormy, Windy.