On Friday, I traveled on Snowmobile and skis from the Miller Flat parking lot up to the Big Meadow which is nearby. The overall snowpack is notably shallower here compared to the central Skyline where I've been the past few days. This shallower snowpack is overall weaker. I experienced collapsing (whumpfing) of the snowpack all day. This is a major red flag.

The weak faceted sugary snow near the ground is still our biggest threat. It will continue to settle and stabilize but it's a very slow process. That said, I never feel comfortable when there are buried facets. I've seen it time and again; you think everything has stabilized and then BAM, you're taking a ride in a slide. Avoiding steep slopes is the only sure way to avoid this situation.

The wind drifted snow which formed scattered slabs around the highest terrain on Friday. I did not notice that any of these were particularly sensitive on their own. Really, the biggest problem with these fresh drifts and slabs is that they just enhance the problem with the buried weak sugary snow near the ground. You are more likely to trigger an avalanche that breaks into weak snow near the ground in areas where these drifts formed.