Elkton

A quiet half-day traveling around the Elkton area.  Surprisingly little avalanche activity given the recent storm totals in the Northwest Mountains.  Persistent weak layers are often buried deep enough with stiffer slabs insulating the weight of a person from releasing an avalanche.  Even though triggered avalanches are stubborn, it remains a possibility particularly where slabs become thin from wind effects and rocky/undulating terrain.

I didn't notice any cracking or collapsing while riding around.

Dug several profiles in sheltered, drifted, and eroded terrain features.  No propagating test results in standardized tests, but removing portions of the slab or adding extra taps resulted in failures.  Overall the recent storm snow bonded well to old surfaces without glaring issues within the storm snow itself.  Persistent slab concerns linger if a person finds a way to impact weak layers due to thin spots in the slab.

Snow surfaces became moist on sunnier terrain features early in the day from periods of sun and green housing effects.