Seems like the new snow was not quite enough of a load/slabby enough in this area (again...wind sheltered). Couldn't get any collapsing or cracking despite jumping on a lot of steep little test slopes. Also, couldn't get much action in stability tests, what I did get was near the ground on the October facets in a thinner area with a little big of pressure (ECTP 25 Q1). Although failure at the ground is alarming in its own right, I was surprised to not get anything mid-pack, and in a separate pit I could not get any failure.

All that said, it doesn't really matter. The weakness of the old snow was super variable, even over a distance of a couple meters you could find places (both on the up and down) where you would crash into super weak faceted snow below. On several of my test slopes, jumping up and down only augured my in up to my waist in a bottomless snowpack. The variability, extremely poor structure, and the obvious winds in more exposed places was enough to keep us in lower angle terrain.