Snowpack observations near Tamarack Peak

Calm winds, clear skies, and moderate temperatures all have helped the snowpack settle and consolidate a little more today in the Mt. Rose area. Hand pits, pole probs, ski cuts on 35-37 degree slopes, and dropping oven-sized cornice pieces onto test slopes only produced some minor craking on the most wind affected slopes (See Photo). The crack in the photo was the only crack longer than 1-2 ft. It measured about 3.5 ft. The wind slab that it occurred ended about 4 ft down from the ridgeline. Most observations indicated that the new snow has settled and bonded well to the snow beneath it. Last night and early this morning some minor east wind scouring did occur in parts of the most exposed areas; however, those winds quickly died down today and did transport enough snow to form new unstable wind slabs or to remove all the soft snow from the N-NE-E aspects. Below treeline the snow surface was largely unaffected by wind and remains very cold, soft, and unconsolidated. Above treeline some small slightly harder wind slabs do still exist in the most exposed areas. Ski pentration today was 6-8 inches in most places. Foot pentration was closer to 24-30 inches.