Tamarack Peak

Went for a recon tour of tamarack zone today. We found some signs of instability, rocks and obstacles to hit and some wind effected snow. It wasn't the "opening day" conditions we hoped for, but fun none the less and lots to learn and see out there. - First notable ob was at the top of tamarack , far skiers right of main path, we watched a solo skier ski down and collapse the whole slope (3-5 meter shooting cracks) but slope did not slide because of gentle slope angle. Interesting sight to see, and kinda surprising the extent of propagation. Im sure this skier had no idea what just happened directly behind him... - Second notable ob was the amount of wind effect on snow surface, which did us a favor by providing more supportable surface conditions near the ridge. That being said we still managed to hit many rocks and a few hidden obstacles on the way down. We also did a few kick tests on some small wind slabs on the way up, which were all reactive and failing at new/old interface. - Lastly, in a quick snow profile (curious from what we observed at the top) we discovered indeed a Strong over Weak snowpack setup. 4F new snow (30-40cm HST) followed by 10-15cm of Fist hard facets (1-3 mm) . Also noteworthy was the one quick CT test we did had Easy and Sudden Collapse result in the faceted layer. Last note, we have what is a setting up to be an interesting snowpack going forward. Also the delayed start to season. This has most of us chomping at the bit and excited to getting our seasons rolling but remember, its a long season.. and a even longer career as a backcountry skier. Be smart, ski light and don't ruin your season over a few early season turns.

Quick report