Wind will it end?

Date of Observation: 03/06/2023
Name: Eric Murrow

Zone: Northwest Mountains
Route Description: Washington Gulch to Baldy Mountain and lap on Coneys at the end of the day.

Observed avalanche activity: Yes
Avalanches: I observed a couple of older Wind Slab debris piles with blown-over crowns on southeast aspect in Baldy’s Rock Creek Bowl and a northwest pocket on Gothic Mountain. Fresh cornice-fall triggered slabs created large avalanches in Peeler Basin (different from the other reported slide) and north aspect of Schuylkill Peak into Baxter Basin.
Weather: Relentless SW winds around 30-40 mph in the alpine with gusts over 60 mph. Temps at low elevations out of the wind felt a bit above freezing and wet snow surfaces on sunny slopes.
Snowpack: We went hunting for recent hard slabs formed by the wind and did not encounter signs of instability on stiff, supportive-to-ski, drifts on northeast, east, and southeast aspects at different elevations. We ski-cut and skied several smaller slopes with obvious hard slabs up to 12″ thick without result. Recent Wind Slabs in this area appear to be stubborn or unreactive now. Minor drifting was observed throughout the day but did appear to produce any significant loading.