Persistent slabs are tricky to manage and generally require patience and conservative terrain choices. Check out the new Forecaster Blog for a great explanation on how to best manage a persistent slab problem. Click here to read the blog.
Problemas de aludes
Persistent Slabs
N
NE
E
SE
S
SW
W
NW
Alta montaña
Límite del bosque
Bajo el límite del bosque
Probabilidad
Possible
Tamaño
1–2.5
60-110 cm of snow sits on a weak layer that consists primarily of facets (sugary snow).
Confidence
Moderate - Due to the number of field observations.
Weather Forecast
SUNDAY NIGHT - Cloudy with clear periods and isolated flurries, up to 5 cm / southwest to west winds, 20-40 km/h / alpine low temperature near -6°c. MONDAY - Cloudy with sunny periods / light southwest winds / alpine high temperature near -8°c. TUESDAY - A mix of sun and cloud / light southwest winds / alpine high temperature near -8°c, low temperature near -10°c. WEDNESDAY - Cloudy with sunny periods and isolated flurries / light southwest winds / alpine high temperature near -9°c, low temperature near -11°c.
Avalanche Summary
Several explosives triggered avalanches size 1-2.5 were reported in the region on Saturday. No new natural avalanches were reported on Saturday.Several natural and explosives triggered avalanches to size 2 were reported on Friday.
Snowpack Summary
10 cm of snow fell during the day on Sunday. This new snow has been redistributed into soft wind slabs in lee areas at treeline and alpine elevations. 60-110 cm of recent snow has formed a slab that sits on a persistent weak layer that formed in early December. This layer mostly consists of facets (sugary snow) with some isolated areas also containing small surface hoar (feathery crystals). Several other weak layers have been observed in the lower snowpack such as crusts and facets that formed in late October/early November. The potential may exist for avalanches triggered on the persistent slab to step down to these lower layers, resulting in large, destructive avalanches.