Spatial variability of the supportability of the Christmas Eve Rain Crust (CERC) is the main question with the PWL. In many areas—the majority, from what I've observed in the Salt Lake zone—the crust is stout, supportable, and unlikely to allow for a rider to trigger a persistent slab avalanche on the weak snow below. However, there are areas—like where this avalanche was triggered above Brown Spot—where the supportability of the crust varies, and it's still possible to trigger a large slide on the PWL. The characteristics of this terrain are steep, northerly (NW-N-NE) terrain, typical below ridgelines near rocks where the snowpack may be thinner. While we weren't able to get close enough to inspect the crown, we were able to glass to see that the original slide likely broke near the ground on weak, old snow. There were many tracks on other parts of the slope, so we cannot say for certain if it was remotely triggered, triggered by a skier/rider, etc.
There also are facets developing below the CERC, which will be something to keep an eye on.
