Have you ever hear the "whomp" sound out in the snow? With Youtube vid....

[sw Pub]

Happens often each winter. It does cause a chill to run down the spine. However, saying that, isn't the snow now more stable since the hoar layer has collapsed (and the mountain hasn't)? The whoomp does show you the layer was weak. But now that layer has lost it's ability to shift.

This doesn't say that after the whoomp I feel safe and secure. It just says I recognized the unstable layer has now settled in the particular area I'm at.