Field work the past two days involved using my probe quite a bit to measure snow depths where facets are present. (W/N/E aspects > ~8,500') In almost every place I looked today (and
Mineral Fork on Saturday) the slab on top of the facets is 1-2m thick and goes from 4F down to 1F to Pencil hard, indicating a very strong slab on top of the faceted layer.
We did get an ECTP30 today on an East aspect at 9,600', failing down 120 cms on the facets, and this indicates that if you were able to get a collapse and fracture in the faceted layer, the avalanche could propagate very widely and deep. On the slope we were testing the fracture would have been 120 cms / 4' deep.
But the facets are gaining strength where I have been looking the past two days, moving from what had been very dry/weak F-hardness towards 4F hardness. They are also becoming damp as the temperature gradient that caused the faceting is no longer present.
With such a strong slab on top and the facets gaining strength and adjusting to the load on top, we are probably very close to this PWL problem becoming dormant. (Dormancy means the problem still exists (didn't go away) and may become reactive once again with a load of new snow or wind-blown snow on top.)
