Extra 20 lbs of glop.

Today we headed into the Flathead Range to get a broader picture of recently formed wind slabs and observe surface conditions with the onset of clear skies and warm temperatures. Wind slabs were isolated with no pattern of distribution. We unintentionally triggered a D1 size wind slab on a steep breakover far down the slope we skied. I noticed the area that I traveled in today was more wind affected than it's neighboring drainages further North. I believe this contributed to less wet loose activity due to wind hardened surfaces.

• 2 to 3 inches of wet snow sitting above dry snow at mid elevations on south aspects. I was able to initiate rollerballs that broke as they turned into the size of a basketball.
• We observed two D1.5 to D2 size wet loose avalanches in nearby terrain on south and southwest facing aspects and mid elevations. 
• Isolated pockets of wind drifted snow on N and SE facing slopes at mid and upper elevations. These ranged from a foot to two inches thick. Localized cracking and a test slope produced a small slab roughly 16 inches deep.
• Hollow slabs of drifted snow were noted at ridgetop before our descent. We descended further downslope in a tree-covered area to re-assess. We found loose dry snow and no evidence of wind loading further off the ridge. It wasn't until the very bottom where we unintentionally triggered a soft wind slab on steep breakover. This was roughly 8 to 10 inches thick, propagated 15 feet wide and ran 30 feet. This was in low consequence terrain. 

Today we felt comfortable skiing steep, wind-sheltered terrain. Because of the pockety nature of wind slabs, we chose terrain that was mostly uniform with clean runouts.