Stubborn wind slabs and good conditions

On a wind exposed northeast aspect between 7400 and 8400', we found about 8 cm of fist hardness new snow capping an older 20-25 cm 1F wind slab over a thin layer of small .3 to .5 mm facet. The slab was stubborn and we observed only minimal cracking at our skis, no shooting cracks, and no reactivity to jumping on test slopes or small ski cuts. There were large cornices at the ridge at 8400'. There were signs in the area of the strong west/northwest wind over night, though the slopes we were on were largely sheltered from that particular wind direction.

On a more sheltered northeast aspect, we found good snow conditions and observed no signs of wind loading.