Wind Slabs
- Hochgebirge
- Waldgrenze
- Unterhalb der Waldgrenze
- Wahrscheinlichkeit
- Possible
- Größe
- 1–2
A storm in the Gulf of Alaska will bring snow showers and southeast winds averaging 20 to 30 mph. Most of the snowfall looks like it will arrive later on Friday and overnight, so the main issue today will be fresh wind slabs 6-12" deep at upper elevations. After a long period of cold and clear weather, there is a lot of weak snow on the surface right now including surface hoar and faceted snow. Wind slabs that form on top of this weak snow could release on lower angle slopes and be more sensitive to human triggers than typical. To identify areas with wind slabs look for active wind loading, shooting cracks, and use small test slopes to check on the size and sensitivity of wind slabs before entering steeper terrain.
Glide avalanches and glide cracks have been observed across the region in the past two weeks. These are unpredictable and can cause very large and destructive avalanches, so we recommend avoiding spending time underneath open glide cracks.
Cornices have also grown very large at this point in the season and can fail naturally during periods of active wind loading. Try to avoid traveling underneath cornices while they are being loaded and give them a wide berth when traveling along ridgelines.