Wind loading and small cracking on Tamarack Peak

Strong winds accompanying new snow started to form small wind slabs near and above treeline on leeward N-NE aspects in this area today. Snowfall started around mid morning.By 3 pm between 3 and 4 inches of new snow had accumulated. The nacent wind slabs had become around 6 inches deep in many areas with some of them as deep as 8 inches. Both the new snow and the wind slabs sit on top of a mix of frozen crusts and unconsolidated faceted snow. In this area hand pits, ski cuts, and other observations showed poor bonding between the new snow and these old snow surfaces. On steep test slopes the new snow would easily sluff away and slide loosely along the crusts. Data also showed that the new snow still had not formed a cohesive slab in many places yet and no test slopes failed as slab fractures. In the areas where the most wind loading had occurred and the new snow displayed the most slab-like properties some skier triggered shooting cracks up to 3-4 ft in lenght did occur (see photo).