Observations from Tamarack Peak.

Location Name: 
Tamarack Peak
Region: 
Mount Rose Area
Date and time of observation: 
Mon, 12/21/2015 - 10:30
Location Map: 
United States
39° 18' 47.268" N, 119° 54' 21.78" W
US


Red Flags: 
Recent loading by new snow, wind, or rain

Observation made by: Forecaster
Snowpit Observations
More detailed information about the snowpack: 

Gale force winds with blowing snow both above and below treeline. Poor visibility in most areas. Snowpit tests targeting near crust facets within the erroding Dec 10 rain gave indications of a difficult to trigger weak layer with the proper characteristics to sustain propagation if collapsed by a large load. Developing surface wind slabs were 15 to 20 cm thick along the more sheltered ridgelines. Newly formed wind pillows up to 3 feet deep existed along the most heavily wind loaded portions of the Far East Ridge. While this surface wind slab was easily collapsed in the snowpit, skier triggered cracking of wind loaded features was minimal. No signs of natural or human triggered avalanche activity observed while in the area of the Far East Ridge and Hourglass Bowl, but again visibility was poor.

Snowpit or crown profile photo or graph: 
Weather Observations
Blowing Snow: 
Yes
Cloud Cover: 
100% of the sky covered by clouds
Air temperature: 
Below Freezing
Wind Speed: 
Gale Force
Precipitation: 
Snow
Air temperature trend: 
Static
Wind Direction: 
Southwest
Accumulation rate: 
Greater than 1 in. per hour