Gale Force Winds and Wind Slabs on Tamarack Peak

Gale force SW winds were transporting snow onto NW-N-NE-E aspects with near whiteout conditions.  Snowfall rates were consistent at S2 throughout the morning and early afternoon.  Visibility was very poor with periods down to 20'.  Shooting cracks were common in wind loaded terrain with small wind slab avalanches able to be skier triggered on test slopes.  We dug test pits in multiple areas and elevations to see if we could find the buried surface hoar and did not find it.  A noticeable density change within the storm snow existed from yesterday with about 6'' of new snow on top.  One of the many handpits we dug showed unstable results on this density change, but the others did not. 

Photo 1 and video: Wind slab failure on a N-NE facing test slope on the far east ridge of Tamarack.

Photo 2:  Shooting cracks on a wind-loaded test slope.