Wind Slabs
- Alta montaña
- Límite del bosque
- Bajo el límite del bosque
- Probabilidad
- Likely
- Tamaño
- 1–2
On Saturday afternoon, the Summit wind station had southwesterly ridgetop winds ranging from 30 to 42 miles an hour for a six hour period, and gusts reached 66 miles per hour. This wind event scoured windward terrain and continued to form dense wind slabs on leeward slopes. These slabs reside above a variety of old snow surfaces which include surface hoar, near surface facets and sun crusts. On steep, wind loaded slopes at the mid and upper elevations, backcountry travelers could trigger these slabs to depths of one to three feet. Some potential may remain for skiers and riders to trigger similar slides up to 18 inches deep at the lower elevations.