The persistent weak layer of sugary facts is easy to find in bottom foot of the snowpack; however,

1) It is generally capped by a very hard supportable slab that is 3 feet thick

2) It has been producing snowpack test (ECT) scores that have been steadily going up. They have been requiring many hard taps from the shoulder.

The most likely places this layer is active are thin shallow areas. Loading since Friday was minimal and the last major load was at Valentines day which was about 2 weeks ago. This layer has adjusted to the load of the Valentine's storm, but I still don't trust. The likelihood of triggering an avalanche on this layer has gone down a lot, but the consequences remain high.

One thing that surprised me was finding very small facets under a crust about 9 inches deep under the new snow that fell Friday/Saturday. With a week of sunshine in the forecast, this layer should get cooked and heal.

Alpine terrain above treeline where the snow is rocky and with many thin spots is where the greatest chance to trigger a slide exists. I triggered shooting cracks in a place where the snow was only about 2 feet deep.