Wind Slabs
- Hochgebirge
- Waldgrenze
- Unterhalb der Waldgrenze
- Wahrscheinlichkeit
- Possible
- Größe
- 1–1.5
Small wind slabs still present some risk in steep, exposed terrain above treeline. Identify slopes holding wind slab by looking for changes in snow stiffness or visual clues like cornices and wind-scoured ridgelines that indicate where the wind redistributed snow into deeper drifts.
You are most likely to trigger one of these avalanches on terrain features like convex rollovers, gully walls, or around cliffs and rock outcroppings. You can evaluate the bond of wind slabs using simple slope tests or hand shears - or simply bypass steep wind loaded features on lower angle, planar terrain.
Heavy precipitation last week fell as snow instead of rain at upper elevations as well and a layer of buried surface hoar may have survived. Assess snowpack conditions if you get up that high in the mountains Tuesday.
Scoured or eroded snow surfaces are a telltale sign the wind has been at work stripping the snow from upwind slopes and depositing it into slabs on the other side of a ridge.
Photo: Julz Holder