Dig Quick Pits on Your Ascent A hasty pit is a quick hole that helps you identify weak and strong layers. If you suspect that there may be a weak layer buried deeply, you should always dig below that point. Otherwise a hole about one meter (3 ft) deep should be sufficient. Once you dig the hole, you will be able to see major layers on the wall of the snow pit. You can detect strong and weak layers by poking the exposed layers in the wall of the pit with your finger, or by brushing the pit wall with your hand and looking for dense and less dense layers. You can also slide a credit card or ruler down through the layers and note the changes in resistance. An additional test that will help you identify layers that otherwise may be hard to detect is the shovel shear test.

All of the ways you have been testing and feeling the snow along the way are crucial to your assessment of the snow stability. Digging frequent quick pits along your travel route will further enhance your assessment. Digging one pit and ignoring all the other data is like getting married on your first date. Sometimes it works but generally it's not a good idea.