Captain obvious-instability

Toured in the Essex area. Moderate rain/snow mix during the overnight hours, but snow levels reached valley floors mid-morning. ~8" in Essex, 12-16"+ in the higher terrain (6000+)

• Throughout the tour, obvious signs of instability (shooting cracks, settling) were evident, especially along ridgelines. Wind slab development was confined to the upper terrain where winds remained strong from the WSW; stout slabs were easy to indentify underfoot. 
• Remotely triggered a 6" soft slab from 50yrds on a convex rollover while skinning; slab ran easily on a presumed density change within the upper portion of new snow. 
• Temperatures gradually decreased as easterly winds picked up from the cold front. 
• Snow rates neared 1"/hr midday.
• Kept it mellow and avoided steep terrain, plenty of great, safe turns to be had if you can sniff out good coverage below 6k. 
• Visibility limited throughout; no recent signs of persistent slab and/or wind slab avalanches.