Revisiting the Dec 1 Facets on Tamarack

We returned to the Tamarack Peak area to monitor the Dec 1 facet layer. We visited places it had been unstable, including a remotely triggered avalanche, areas where whumpfing had occurred, and locations with unstable snowpit test results. We did not encounter whumpfing or new persistent slab avalanches today, but we could still feel the weak layer with our poles. The snow above the Dec 1 facets has gained strength, and when we stepped off our skis, we did not sink to our hips in the snow. We dug two snowpits today in areas where we found the Dec 1 facets. One pit was in sheltered below treeline terrain, and the other was in exposed higher-elevation terrain right next to a previous persistent slab avalanche. Snowpit tests indicated that getting enough force through the upper snowpack to break the facet layer has become more difficult in both these pits. The tests also showed that if the facets fail, the resulting fracture could travel along that layer for a long distance. 

In addition to monitoring the facets, we also noticed the winds increased during our tour and started to blow snow and form small drifts near ridges. Widespread surface hoar existed in this area as well. The winds had yet to destroy it by the time we left at 1:30 pm.