Wind Slabs
- Alta montaña
- Límite del bosque
- Bajo el límite del bosque
- Probabilidad
- Possible
- Tamaño
- 1–1.5
Strong winds have pressed most surfaces, check for stubborn slabs in lee features.
It's a challenging snowpack that requires conservative terrain selection.
Strong winds have pressed most surfaces, check for stubborn slabs in lee features.
Be aware of the potential for remote triggering and large avalanches due to buried surface hoar, especially at treeline and below.
Last week's field team reports continued to find persistent weak layers in the upper snowpack. On Friday, the team found whumpfing and cracking, and a reactive layer of surface hoar in snowpack tests. And on Thursday, our field team found a reactive persistent slab problem near Sparwood.
Observations are currently very limited in this region. Please consider sharing your observations with the Mountain Information Network.
Widespread wind effect has left a variety of pressed surfaces, slabs, and sastrugi in open terrain and into treeline elevations. Solar slopes may have a sun crust which becomes widespread at lower elevations.
A weak layer is buried 30 to 60 cm deep and consists of either surface hoar or a facet/crust combination. Persistent slab avalanches are most likely in sheltered areas at treeline and below, where the surface hoar is well preserved.
The mid and lower snowpack are well settled in some areas. In others, large facets (depth hoar) are present at the bottom of the snowpack.
Monday Night
Clear skies. 50 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -3 °C. Freezing level 1700 m.
Tuesday
Mix of sun and clouds. 60 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -3 °C.
Wednesday
Mostly cloudy. 1 to 2 mm of precipitation as snow or rain at treeline. 50 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -2 °C. Freezing level 2000 m.
Thursday
Mix of sun and clouds. 1 to 3 cm of snow. 30 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -4 °C.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.