Red Ridge

The low-density snow on the surface is growing weaker and was also easily transported by today's increased northerly winds up high.  The fresh drifts were quite sensitive underfoot but harmless in size and only located just below alpine ridgelines.  I wasn't hunting for persistent slab feedback today, but there were numerous shallow areas on this windward terrain where you could punch through the slabs where they thinned (to 20 to 45 cm) without much effort.  Some of those produced collapses, but most didn't.  There are also wind-protected areas near treeline out here where slabs are dense and thick (70cm +) and would be very difficult to trigger now from the fat of the slab.  

Isolated cracking and collapsing on fresh, shallow drifts just below an alpine ridgeline. Drifts were 3" to 10" deep, 4F hard. We also got a handful of collapses below 9600' in the East River Valley. Most radiated 20' to 30'. One rumbled across the landscape as far as I could see, at least 1000'. No other signs of instability were noted underfoot, despite traveling across some shallower terrain features at higher elevations.