Observations from Mt. Houghton and Tamarack Peak.

Location Name: 
Mt. Houghton & Tamarack Pk
Region: 
Mount Rose Area
Date and time of observation: 
Mon, 02/29/2016 - 12:00
Location Map: 
United States
39° 19' 56.5536" N, 119° 56' 4.9092" W
See map: Google Maps
US



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

Moderate speed SW winds were slowing snow surface melt rates on the upper elevation E-SE-S aspects that exist on Tamarack Peak and Mt. Houghton. A strong snow surface refreeze occurred in this area last night. Melt had yet to occur above 10,000' prior to noon. Below 10,000' SE-S aspects were observed to hold a well established melt-freeze upper snowpack. E aspects traveled today were all above 8,500' and remained transitional with thin surface melt-freeze on top of colder snow, yet to undergo a melt cycle. Prior to departure from the area around 1:30 pm, boot penetration into surface wet snow tested on a number of SE-E aspects between 8,600' and 10,400' never exceeded 15 cm and were closer to 10 cm in the majority of areas. No signs of loose wet instability was observed in these upper elevation areas prior to the early afternoon hours.

A snowpit dug on the far N slopes of Tamarack Peak at around 9,600' revealed a strong and dense snowpack. Snowpit tests targeting the top 90 cm of the snowpack revealed no problematic weak layers.

Snowpit or crown profile photo or graph: 
Weather Observations
Cloud Cover: 
Clear
Air temperature: 
Above Freezing
Wind Speed: 
Moderate
Air temperature trend: 
Warming
Wind Direction: 
Southwest
More detailed information about the weather: 

Clear skies throughout the morning hours.