Wind Slabs
- Hochgebirge
- Waldgrenze
- Unterhalb der Waldgrenze
- Wahrscheinlichkeit
- Possible
- Größe
- 2
Before these small storms, there was weak loose, dry snow on the upper elevation, shady slopes mostly above 8,000', though Wednesdays' slide shows it can exists even a bit lower, 7,400', on very sheltered, shady slopes. To have an avalanche, the weak snow needs a slab, which can be a denser wind drift from the past few days or today. Approach steep, upper elevation shady slopes with caution - this is where wider slab avalanches can be triggered today, possibly remotely or breaking out above you when you’re part way down a slope.
While this video is from Little Cottonwood, it explains the layering you are looking for and how easy and useful a hand pit can be. Greg Gagne explaining layering on an upper elevation northeasterly facing slope where there was collapsing.