Snow height varied but the average was around 3' with a bit less snow on west and southerly facing aspects. The dry loose on the surface was sitting on top of a very friable melt-freeze crust that didn't affect travel on northerly facing slopes. In this location the PWL from earlier in the season was not reactive and the weak faceted snow from prior to Christmas (December 20th) was not a player. IF you could find a location with wind-loaded snow over this layer you might be able to trigger an avalanche, but I didn't find these conditions where I traveled today.