Wind Slabs
- Hochgebirge
- Waldgrenze
- Unterhalb der Waldgrenze
- Wahrscheinlichkeit
- Possible
- Größe
- 1
On Saturday, backcountry travelers in above treeline terrain saw newly formed wind slabs, but there were no reports of avalanches produced in steep terrain, and no cracking was observed. Later, other observers noted watching wind transport at higher elevations, along ridgelines. Slightly increased winds will progress through the night, backing off during the day. There is a small chance that newly formed wind slabs could be more reactive than Saturday's, as plenty of low-density snow still exists to be blown around. Be sure to check for and test wind slabs on steep slopes before fully committing to the slope. High-consequence terrain is the place where you'd be mostly likely to find one of these rogue avalanches, so always be prepared with a bailing strategy if you were to trigger an avalanche on the slope.
A photo from last year of a small, isolated skier triggered avalanche in the Baker backcountry (White Salmon Glacier): The avalanche was triggered as a skier traversed across the bottom of the slope (note the ski track entering the debris). He was partially buried. Crown was ~5 inches deep and ~35 feet in width.
Photo: Zach Bunch