Sneaky surface hoar

Today we went into the Flathead Range to assess storm totals and to suss out any potential persistent weak layers that may wake up with more snow and wind on the way.

• Snow accumulations ranged from roughly 4 inches at mid elevations and 6 to 8 inches above 6000 feet.
• We observed recent and active wind loading throughout the day at mid and upper elevations. At upper elevations, we were able to trigger wind slabs on small test slopes that were roughly 8 to 10 inches thick.
• Snowpit test results in a treed area at mid elevations revealed nonpropagating results roughly 6 inches down. This failed within the storm snow. 
• At upper elevations on a northeast aspect, we found a sneaky layer of surface hoar that was recently buried (12/14). Here extended column tests had propagating results with easy force. This layer is roughly 6 to 8 inches below the surface. For now...  
• We had two large whumping collapses traveling an east/west ridgeline at roughly 7000 ft. 

Given these obvious signs of instability, the decision was easy to avoid avalanche terrain today. I broke a probe halfway through the day which reinforced this decision. We rode on terrain with slope angles less than thirty degrees and enjoyed every second of it.