Wind Loading, Cracking, and Upside Down Snow on Tamarack

Driving up to Mt. Rose rain changed to snow around 8800 to 8900 ft. Above 8900 ft. 4 to 8 inches of new dense moist snow existed on top of the lighter snow that was on the surface yesterday. Ski kicks on small sheltered test slopes triggered some shooting cracks. On one steeper test slope another kick resulting in a small storm slab 6 to 8 inches deep sliding down the test slope. 

In more exposed near and above treeline terrain active, wind-loading was occurring and very large and heavy cornices had built out over wind loaded slopes. On smaller test slopes these cornices were fragile and easy to trigger and some of them did produce shooting cracks in the wind slabs on the slopes below them. They did not produce wind slab failures, but we avoided getting close enough to the edges of the larger cornices to trigger them.  Ski kicks on small wind-loaded test slopes also triggered long shooting cracks.