Buried surface hoar near Charity Valley

I chose not to expose myself to wind loaded terrain today, and instead went looking for buried surface hoar in steep terrain that was sheltered from winds. I looked in places I would have expected to see it on the surface prior to the new snow. Trench checks and mitt pits were not fine enough tools to find it, but everywhere I carefully used my shovel, I found it 4-6" below the new surface. There was still no slab above it, and the difference in hand hardness was minimal between the snow above the surface hoar and the snow below it. I tried a few ECTs anyway, and was surprised to get partial propagation on them (each time on my first tap). This was consistent with test slopes that were touchy and behaved more like dry loose avalanches than slabs.