Widespread cracking on Andesite Peak

Location Name: 
Andesite Peak
Region: 
Donner Summit Area
Date and time of observation: 
Fri, 02/07/2014 - 08:45
Location Map: 
United States
39° 21' 0.144" N, 120° 21' 52.812" W
See map: Google Maps
US


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

Multiple cracks propagating through the last two day's snow when approached on skis.  One failure plane centers around a buried freezing rain crust from the morning of Feb 6, another below that in a weakness within the soft snow.  It was easy to find this second failure but difficult because of the weather to ID the failure grain type. Buried SH?  not sure. Though multiple cracks would propagate as the slopes were approached, I could only ski trigger one small avx.  One steep isolated pocket cracked around its entire perimete, but even then I could not get it to slide.  Terrain roughness is still a factor in the area.  Skiing was an odd mix of deep snow with modest coverage.

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: 
Moderate
Precipitation: 
Snow
Air temperature trend: 
Warming
Wind Direction: 
West
Accumulation rate: 
Less than 1 in. per hour
More detailed information about the weather: 

Snowing about 1-2 cm an hour, visibility good, winds seemed to be increasing while I was out there.