Helluva read. “When testing snow, Ryan said, you should never look for proof of stability. With stability the goal, you’re testing for permission to do what yo

Helluva read. “When testing snow, Ryan said, you should never look for proof of stability. With stability the goal, you’re testing for permission to do what you want to do. Instead, you should test the snow for proof of instability. You should look and look and look until you find it.” I learned somewhat similar risk analysis as a student pilot. When on your final approach to landing, descending through 500 feet, then 100, then 10, you should always be on a hair trigger, spring-loaded to hit the throttle, abort the landing, and go around. If you’re doing it right, actually making the landing should almost be a surprise! Then again, my flight instructor said a Piper J-3 Cub is best to learn in, because “it goes just barely fast enough to kill you.”