Shooting cracks and snowpit from the far east ridge of Tamarack

Location Name: 
Far East Ridge of Tamarack
Region: 
Mount Rose Area
Date and time of observation: 
Sat, 12/18/2010 - 13:30
Location Map: 
United States
39° 18' 47.8764" N, 119° 54' 17.9532" W
See map: Google Maps
US


Red Flags: 
Recent avalanche activity
Whumphing noises, shooting cracks, or collapsing
Recent loading by new snow, wind, or rain
Observation made by: Forecaster
Snowpit Observations
More detailed information about the snowpack: 

A thick layer of very dense and cohesive snow existed above softer, less dense snow in this area. Some skier triggered shooting cracks and collapse did occur due to the failure of the bonds holding those two layers together. I dug a few test pits to look for the surface hoar layer but could only locate this layer in on of my pits. In that pit it looked like it had already collapsed and that the collapse of the surface hoar had not resulted in an avalanche.

Pit: Test pit on the far east ridge.

Photo: 20-30 foot long skier-triggered shooting cracks on a 38 degree, NE facing test slope.

Snowpit or crown profile photo or graph: 
Snowpack photos: 
Weather Observations
Blowing Snow: 
Yes
Cloud Cover: 
100% of the sky covered by clouds
Air temperature: 
Below Freezing
Wind Speed: 
Strong
Precipitation: 
Snow
Air temperature trend: 
Static
Wind Direction: 
Southwest
Accumulation rate: 
Less than 1 in. per hour
More detailed information about the weather: 

The southwest wind increased dramatically while I was in the field. Significant wind loading was occurring near and above treeline.