Variable Snow on Tamarack Peak

Touring on Tamarack Peak today we found a mix of snow conditions. On exposed slopes, we found wind affected snow and scoured surfaces. In more sheltered below treeline areas, we found some soft weak surface snow (near-surface facets) on northerly aspects. These near-surface facets have formed during the cold clear weather. We also found some small surface hoar in a few areas. Both of these surfaces bear monitoring since they could form weak layers if they get buried. Right now it is easy to see where they are. On more sun-exposed slopes we found some thin crusts and warmer snow. The snowpack remains shallow. During our tour, we found 1-2 ft of snow on the ground. We also found lots of bushes and exposed creeks that are usually snow-covered later in the winter. 

We did not find any signs of instability in general observations or in snowpit data.