Same basic plan--right-side-up slab topped with powder and sitting on facets--as seen in other pits this week. Easier to trigger weak layer in our extended column tests, however, than we've noted elsewhere...presumably a function of both the shallower snowpack and looser/larger facets.
Most interesting finding? Basal facets from a pit only 300' higher at the top of Yellow Jacket were exquisitely striated with 5-6mm cupped forms and no sign of rounding. This location had a thin snowpack of only 40cm, ripe for facet-forming temperature gradients greater than 1°C/10cm. Using some fuzzy mathand a 7-day temperature chart from a similar elevation we can see the difference between air temps (eye-ball average of 10°F or -12°C) and ground temps (approximately 0°C) could create a sufficient gradient (3°C/10cm) for facet formation. In short, a very visible reminder that opposing processes can be at work in close proximity.
