Wind Slabs
- Hochgebirge
- Waldgrenze
- Unterhalb der Waldgrenze
- Wahrscheinlichkeit
- Possible
- Größe
- 2
In the past 36 hours winds from the southwest picked up and blew 15-30 mph across the upper elevations. This morning the winds have relaxed. However, it's hard to ignore these winds, as I would imagine they were able to move some snow across the exposed terrain. Therefore, I would be on the lookout for fresh, soft or hard slabs of wind-drifted snow. These slabs will likely be less than a foot deep, but they could be sensitive to the weight of riders as our snow surface is plagued with weak faceted snow.
If you find yourself on firm, hard snow or snow that is stiff, punchy, or upside down, you've likely found a wind slab, and it's possible it could avalanche. Remember, shooting cracks or whumpfs (collapsing) are signs of unstable snow. My advice would be to avoid the slopes affected by the wind and stay in the soft, re-crystalized snow that offers up nice riding and turning conditions. On these slopes, you will find a LOW avalanche danger where you only need to worry about your sluff (dry loose avalanche).