Persistent Slabs
- Hochgebirge
- Waldgrenze
- Unterhalb der Waldgrenze
- Wahrscheinlichkeit
- Likely
- Größe
- 3
In the Ogden area mountains, slopes above 8500 feet contained old snow that became weak and faceted. These slopes generally face NW, N, and NE at the highest elevations. This old snow formed a persistent weak layer that now has a soft slab 2-3 feet thick on top. Drew found this layer on Ben Lomond on Sunday, Greg found it in the Snowbasin backcountry, and Powder Mountain snow safety personnel found it as well.
This layer produced a widespread avalanche cycle further south in Cottonwood Canyons near Salt Lake City. It is not as widespread in the Ogden area mountains, but it does exist and shouldn't be trusted. This avalanche problem has created dangerous avalanche conditions and requires careful snowpack evaluations.