Isn't it general practice for pilots in Alaska to make a couple of light passes to not only set come grooves in the snow, but to judge what exactly they are dealing with before setting the full weight of the plane down in that situation??? IIRC my family member pilot (Alaskan flight experience), that is highly advised, especially to help root out overflow. Sounds like quite often a thick layer of snow can float over a few feet of water, which is on top of the main ice layer. That causes a real bad day. Better to do a few laps to test it out. Test laps can get the water to show up in the ruts.