Most of note is the increasing amount of near surface faceting as this period of just cold enough and clear weather continues to weaken the snowpack. Some previously wind-textured or crusted surfaces are becoming soft. Whenever we get a significant load, it's going to fall on top of weak, faceted sugar.
The availability of almost any surface you could dream of made for a great day to practice riding skills. Faceted, loose soft snow in protected areas; wind-packed and wind-scoured on more exposed features; everything from a zipper to a trap-door melt-freeze crust on solars, depending on the slope angle; and the grand finale: sastrugi and windboard paired well with refrozen old, risen tracks to boot.
Shallowly-buried rocks, trees, and stumps were our biggest safety concerns for our machines.
