Covered lots of ground and dug lots of quick pits. Was curious about the old snow surface which I was finding the immediate layer of concern on Saturday. Much of the avalanche activity this weekend occurred within the storm snow or at this new snow/old snow interface. Any instabilities within the storm snow have settled out, and the storm snow is a very soft layer that is not cohesive, so it is difficult to get clean shears. In areas where there is wind-loading, the denser slab will be more cohesive and it may be easier to trigger avalanches.

The inch+ of water weight on the weak snowpack is the larger concern, and the loud/booming collapses today are evidence the buried PWL cannot support this load.

Fortunately, lower-angled slopes are riding very well and there is no need to push slope angles beyond 30°.