A couple - few inches of graupel made a world of difference. We need a couple feet of snow with a little body on it to build a good foundation. Where the graupel has been stripped or exceeded its angle of repose, a 1-2mm rime crust sits exposed. Rime and rain crusts may foster the development of facets adjacent to it, but none noted by feel. This is often more pronounced when the crust sits a bit closer to the surface.
I would call this mostly dormant in the central Wasatch. I was able to elicit full propagation with an ECT on a 10,100' East facing slope in Dry Fork, but I suspect it's bc I had tampered with the basal facets (discussing them with the son of a friend of mine). I could not replicate the results. One may feel that the pattern is consistent in that the snow seems the weakest outside of the Cottonwoods and perhaps more pronounced along the PC ridge and Mill Creek.
