No Rain Crust on Tamarack Peak

We set out to determine where the rain line may have reached yesterday. Once we got on the snow at 8800 ft. at the Tamarack trailhead, it became apparent that it did not rain in this area yesterday. Also, there was less new snow on the surface than Sierra Crest areas held yesterday. Quick observations like pole probing and hand pits during our ascent showed 1 to 2 inches of new snow resting on top of older partially faceted snow with no rain crust either on the surface or at the base of the new snow. Digging deeper into the snowpack we found mostly consolidated snow layers with good bonding between and within the layers. We decided that the consistent soft snow we found while skinning in sheltered terrain could be a good option for the descent. We continued up to the more exposed areas along the far east ridge of Tamarack to evaluate the recently formed wind-slabs. We found a spot on the ridge that we could access a wind-slab from a low angle and safe approach. Our tests and snowpit data only revealed signs of instability limited to the top .5 to 1 inch of the snowpit where a small wind slab existed. Nearby this upper wind slab was a little thicker (up to 4 inches) but it still only extended 3 to 4 ft away from the ridgeline. Ski kicks on that pocket of wind slab did cause some cracking. We chose to return to the sheltered terrain for the descent because the snow quality was much better than in the more exposed areas. 

Photo 1: Wind scouring on a windward slope in near treeline terrain.

Photo 2: The largest wind slab we saw. It was only 3 to 4 inches deep and only extended 3 to 4 ft. downslope from the ridge.