Snow profile from Tamarack on a ESE facing slope

Location Name: 
tamarack peak
Region: 
Mount Rose Area
Date and time of observation: 
Thu, 11/16/2017 - 10:15
Location Map: 
United States
39° 19' 8.976" N, 119° 55' 4.5012" W
See map: Google Maps
US


Red Flags: 
Recent avalanche activity
Recent loading by new snow, wind, or rain
Obvious avalanche path
Terrain Trap
Observation made by: Public
Snowpit Observations
More detailed information about the snowpack: 

We dug two pits today. The snow profile shown here was ESE and showed better stability than another quick pit done on a north facing slope with a shallower snowpack. Our north facing pit showed easy to moderate compression test failures in the bottom 15 cm of snow. This weak layer was a 10-15cm layer of 1-2mm facets on the bottom of the snowpack. This layer seemed significantly easier to trigger in shallower sections of our pit. The next slope to the skiers left is hourglass bowl where we found a size two avalanche. The weak layer that this avalanche failed on (see other avalanche observation) seemed to be gaining strength in our ESE snow profile.

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: 
Moderate
Precipitation: 
Snow
Air temperature trend: 
Static
Wind Direction: 
Southwest
Accumulation rate: 
Greater than 1 in. per hour
More detailed information about the weather: