As much as we'd like to think that the load of the new snow over the Oct facets is adjusting to the weight, it seems like it's not...yet. We got a big whoomph as we approached the ridge, and though there was some wind loading and minor slab development going on, the whoomph seemed pretty deeply-rooted. We chose not to go up to the ridge and tickle the sweet spot but instead stayed in the trees and on the lower-angle terrain. The crack that it created was small (see pic), but spread pretty far

There was enough of a chilly breeze out of the SW coming over the ridge that a wind slab was forming, but wasn't too deep/scary. However, a small windslab might have the potential to create enough energy for a bigger step-down to the weak facets near the ground?