Quick report
The last stagnant weather period created small to medium sized facets at the old snow surface. Most sheltered E thru N to NW facing terrain I investigated had either surface hoar or diurnally recrystallized near surface facets. The lack of wind with this storm allowed this new persistent weak layer to get preserved and buried under 2" to 4" of new snow. Pic 1 shows this layer buried under the new snow. Pic 2 is 1-2mm near surface facets. There's not much of a slab above it but compression tests failed with less than 10 taps and hand shears were easy. This new weak layer might be concerning if we were looking at an upcoming storm cycle but with no real storminess on the horizon we'll just have to wait and see how this layer evolves. One thing is for sure, this layer will change by the time we get enough snow to worry about it too much.
The modest new snow amounts greatly improved riding conditions and the deteriorating old snow surface helped to make the skiing feel deeper than just 2".