Wind Slabs
- Hochgebirge
- Waldgrenze
- Unterhalb der Waldgrenze
- Wahrscheinlichkeit
- Unlikely
- Größe
- 1
Ted was in upper Humpy Basin six days ago and snapped these images, illustrating the overall coverage and general snow structure in upper elevation terrain.
Fresh drifts along the highest ridges are about the only avalanche concern these days. The good news is... you'd really have to go out of your way to get into trouble because they're isolated to the highest terrain. In addition, today's wind slabs are easy to detect by their fat, round, and often chalky looking appearance. The bad news is... even a small wind drift can easily knock you off your feet and take you for a nasty ride through rocks, deadfall, or stumps.
And remember- just 'cause you can see it from the road doesn't means it's good to go. Our high mountain passes dump us off in avalanche terrain. I think about early season roadside attractions like Murdock Bowl off the Mirror Lake Highway or Wolf Creek Bowl near highway 35 and Wolf Creek Pass. Easy grabs... right? Even though it might not seem like there's enough snow to avalanche, today you'll want to avoid any steep, wind drifted slope.