Deep snow, small slides

Looked around the upper Whitefish River valley to prep for next weekend's Motorized L1 class. Olney to Red Meadows, down east side a few miles, back up and return w a brief detour to Link Mtn Trailhead.

• 8-10" of fresh snow sits on the 2/22 snow surface - which is a crust below about 5000 feet, or a denser layer of snow at elevations above that. The new snow is soft - Fist to Fist+ hard - but still failed regularly as a cohesive block in hand pits.
• A small, snowmobile-triggered soft slab occurred this morning, on a short, steep, low-elevation slope above the road (Avalanche Details tab) - further evidence that the snow could act as a cohesive slab despite being very soft.
• The fresh snow settled during today's periods of sun, making it slightly more slabby.
• The direct sun also released a few rollerballs above about 5500 feet, and some small to large sluffs in steep, southerly slopes. 
• Apart from sluffs in the recent snow, we didn't see natural avalanches in the surrounding terrain, including the northerly slopes on Red Meadow Peak, the large, east-facing avalanche path on Link Mountain, or a large, easterly avalanche path on Whitefish Mountain that runs regularly when wind loaded. An old crown was visible just below the cornice in this path.

Excellent riding conditions.