Wind Slabs
- Hochgebirge
- Waldgrenze
- Unterhalb der Waldgrenze
- Wahrscheinlichkeit
- Possible
- Größe
- 1–2
Wind Slabs occurr when the wind blows snow onto sheltered slopes below ridgelines and behind crossloaded features. The wind not only moves the snow around (making it particularly deep on these lee slopes), it also breaks up the crystals so that when they come to rest they often pack together into a more cohesive slab. When this slab overlays weaker snow, Wind Slab avalanches can occurr.
On Tuesday I observed large collapses in wind drifted snow. In the last 48 hours winds have been from the east, south, west, and even just north of west. This means that we are seeing some unusual loading patterns throughout the terrain. On slopes that are not affected by the wind we have 20-25 cm. of new snow with a stout crust beneath. By using this crust as a landmark it is easy to note changes in this new snow depth as you travel through terrain. Be wary of deeper areas of wind deposited snow especially if they exist on steep convex slopes. You can often identify new wind slabs by their soft, pillowy appearance.