Available Snow for Wind Transport on Carpenter Ridge

Calm day in the Carpenter Ridge area.  Full cloud cover in the morning decreased slightly to partly cloudy skies into the midday.  Minimal snow transport was observed up to noon, although SW winds did increase on our departure in the afternoon.  With the recent cold temperatures, substantial unconsolidated low density snow exists along ridges and wind exposed areas.  We observed up to 12'' of light snow on S-SW-W aspects along the ridge above 8000' with no sun crusts present.  As the SW winds further increase in speed tonight and tomorrow, efficient snow transport will occur with wind slab development.  With the available snow for wind transport and the forecasted strong SW winds, wind slabs could be problematic tomorrow.