Stryke surface hoar off the list for this basin. Only 1000 more to check.

We went into Stillwater State Forest hunting for buried surface hoar and signs of instability. In short, we didn’t find 'em.

• There is 12” to 16” of recent soft snow (F to 4F) over the 2/23 interface. The interface consists of small grained near surface facets on sheltered, shady aspects. 
• We dug numerous pits and stomped on numerous test slopes with no concerning results. We got some 3’ cracking in a terrain feature where the slab was a bit stiffer and the facets where noticeably larger and weaker
• On northeasterly aspects, we spotted 4 avalanche crowns from slabs that failed during the storm on the 2/23 interface, up to D1.5 in size. Our crown investigations also yielded stable test results. 
• Given the lack of red flags and multiple targeted pits showing a lack of a reactive persistent weak layer, we felt comfortable skiing in steep terrain with clean runouts.